JamiiForums is a Tanzania-based social networking website in East Africa founded by Maxence Melo and Mike Mushi in 2006. The online network is notable as the most popular social media website in Tanzania, according to AllAfrica. The website emphasizes its use of user-generated content to avoid penalties faced by traditional media for reporting issues in Tanzania. According to Washington Post, recent Tanzanian bills have caused significant worry over potential media crackdown in Tanzania.
JamiiForums launched officially in March 2006 with the name JamboForums, and comprised several online subforums. In May 2008 they changed their name to JamiiForums due to copyright issues. In March 2016, Jamii Media filed a lawsuit against the federal Tanzanian police force, alleging that the police force's power to demand personal information of individuals suspected of crimes was unconstitutional. The case will be processed through the High Court of Tanzania.
Controversy
According to The Daily Beast and The Guardian, the website became a whistleblowing platform with its focus on current events and news, placing the website at direct opposition with the leading Tanzanian political party Chama Cha Mapinduzi. Tom Rhodes, a member of the Committee to Protect Journalists in East Africa, notes that the website is notable for its function as a "cathartic tool where even disgruntled politicians go and upload sensitive documents" in the Irish Times.
Due to its use was a whistleblowing platform, BBC News characterized the website as a East African version of Wikileaks and noted that there was concern over rumors that the website was being hacked online by the Tanzanian government. BBC further indicated that Google's search engine had lowered the ranking of the site due to concern over government influence.
Beyond user-generated content, the founders of the website have advocated for freedom of media and social networking in Tanzania. The director of the website spoke out against recently-passed Tanzanian laws that purportedly give too much power to the Tanzanian National Bureau of Statistics.