Locked out again – a pattern of digital exclusion Across the African continent, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and freelancers are increasingly reporting unexplained suspensions1, account shutdowns, or impossible-to-navigate verification loops – mostly on platforms like LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s rollout of ID verification, supposedly for protection against bot or scam accounts, has now – intentionally or unintentionally – become a barrier for many users in Africa where the required tech infrastructure to complete these verifications simply doesn’t exist; where it does, it exists for a premium cost unaffordable to many. This raises a central question: who are global platforms really designed for? And since these platforms now function as critical infrastructure for employment, expression, trade, and learning, shouldn’t their governance systems reflect this level of importance? Samuel, a software engineer in Lagos, narrated his ordeal to me during an interview: “Three of my accounts have been shut down now due to ID verification. I don’t have a problem with verification, right, since it is their (LinkedIn’s) policy. But I have a problem with the verification platform, where the only thing that works is an international passport. I have used my NIN (Nigerian National ID), and it is not working. This is not the…
Deplatformed and disconnected: How big tech platforms are locking Africans out of the digital economy
