Malawi: Questions Grow Over Malawi's Social Media Monitoring System Amid Oversight Concerns

What the report says

Questions are growing in Malawi over a social media monitoring platform installed for the country’s telecoms regulator, MACRA, at a site overlooking Blantyre. According to Nyasa Times, the system was set up in January 2025 by seven Ghanaian technicians under a contract awarded to Ghana-based Hashcom Ghana Limited for about $1.5 million. The platform was meant to track misinformation and disinformation on Facebook, X and LinkedIn, and the deal was approved shortly before Malawi’s September 2025 general election.

The report says civil society groups challenged the procurement from the start, arguing that the process lacked transparency and should be suspended. Parliament considered the issue but did not issue a binding order, while the Malawi Human Rights Commission began an inquiry and later dropped it. A request for presidential intervention also did not lead to action, and the system was installed despite those objections.

More than a year later, the article says key questions remain unanswered, including whether the platform was fully operational during the election, what data it collected, and who could access it. MACRA said it could not comment because the matter is part of an audit. The Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority said the contract fell within MACRA’s own procurement threshold and was not reviewed by PPDA. The report adds broader context that concerns about MACRA’s monitoring powers and executive influence have existed before this contract.