The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South CHAPTER 10 Democracy Caught in A Power Struggle Between Platforms and Politics By Juliet N. Nanfuka A tug of war exists between global tech platforms and political actors in Africa and is increasingly shaping the continent’s online civic engagement, digital democracy and political landscape. This essay explores the evolving dynamics between these powerful actors, and how the convergence of control of information and narratives is unfolding and its implications for democratic governance in Africa. Digital platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, X, and Snapchat have become vital spaces through which political parties, activists, and citizens engage with democratic processes. This is particularly pertinent in the global majority with the role that digital hyperlocal media and social networking spaces are playing especially in their capacities to empower communities by making political spaces more accessible and familiar, challenging traditional power structures, and enhancing democratic participation at the local level (Toumaras, 2025). These platforms have come to offer unprecedented opportunities for often marginalised groups to participate in political discourse, expand civic engagement, and challenge political narratives. Often what has started off as a hyperlocal online narrative has evolved into actions offline and in some instances changes in governance. This has been witnessed in Kenya’s 2024 Gen Z protests that drove the #RejectTheFinanceBill in which citizens driven by the youth demanded social justice and accountability, policy formulation, transparency and political change in the country (Nyagaka & Ongere, 2025); and the Nigeria 2021 #EndSARS movement driven by young Nigerians calling against the rogue police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that stood accused of a slew of crimes including harassment, rape, profiling, extortion, and robbery (Bodunrin & Matsilele, 2024). 134 Democracy Caught in A Power Struggle Between Platforms and Politics A tug of war exists between global tech platforms and political actors in Africa and is increasingly shaping the continent’s online civic engagement, digital democracy and political landscape. Democracy Caught in A Power Struggle Between Platforms and Politics 135