Independent media regulation vital for clean election — Prof. Burger

An emeritus professor of Rhodes University in South Africa, Professor Guy Burger, has advocated an independent and multi-sectorial regulation of "big tech" companies on data transparency and information management to ensure clean elections on December 7.

He said the regulatory body should include intellectuals who had requisite knowledge in that field.

The emeritus professor said Ghana, just like other countries on the continent, needed to be guided by the threat of social media for misinformation and disinformation, which appeared to have zero regulations.

The renowned professor said in the era of the Internet and AI, it was important to apply some brakes to promote a healthy ecosystem for the December general election.

He was speaking on the topic: “The links between African journalism, big tech, elections and data: How to fill the gap”.

The event was organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the National Media Commission (NMC).

Regulation

He said regulation was necessary because, "a little bit of bad stuff can derail all the good stuff that has happened."

He, however, did not proffer a blanket solution to the threat but rather said it should be dealt with on a case by case basis, depending on what was being regulated.

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"It could be regulation to deal with competition, monopoly or anything, depending on what a country is faced with.

"Some of these big tech companies take content from the media free and run with it," he said.

Admitting the complication to govern the Internet and AI, Prof. Burger advocated a responsible media for a credible and safe elections.

His presentation attracted comments and contributions from some media experts, including two former editors of the Daily Graphic, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh and Kobby Asmah, as well as Kwesi Gyan Apenteng, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo of the University of Ghana, and Gabriel Bosompem, a member of the NMC.

GBC Director-General

In his remarks, the Director-General of GBC, Prof. Amin Alhassan, said the national broadcaster would give equal access to all political parties certified by the Electoral Commission (EC) to use his outfit’s platforms for free.

He, however, said that GBC would also sell out media spaces to interested parties beyond the free gesture.