'My skin is crocodile skin, I don't mind insults' – Mahama calls for debate on TikTok, new media regulation

Josephine Amuzu 09:04 - 26 September 2026

President Mahama addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York

President John Dramani Mahama calls for a national forum with GJA and MFWA to address TikTok regulation in Ghana while safeguarding free speech rights.

President Mahama says Ghanaians must collectively decide how TikTok and other new media platforms should be regulated.
He says he does not mind being insulted but questions whether arrests are the appropriate response to online commentary.
He has backed stakeholder discussions involving the GJA, MFWA, police, media bodies, civil society and other groups to develop a framework for harmful online content while protecting legitimate expression.

President John Dramani Mahama has called for a national conversation on how Ghana should regulate TikTok and other emerging media platforms, saying the country must collectively decide how to balance freedom of expression with the need to address harmful online content.

Speaking about the growing influence of TikTok and other social media platforms, President Mahama said the issue of regulating the new media is not unique to Ghana, with countries around the world also grappling with questions about information integrity online.

In a video shared by TV3 on X, he noted that anyone with a phone can create and publish content, which can then be widely circulated through platform algorithms.

According to him, repeated exposure to similar content can also influence what users see on their feeds.

President Mahama also raised concerns about anonymous accounts and online users who use social media to make offensive or harmful statements without revealing their identities.

However, he said he personally does not take insults directed at him seriously.

I don't mind if people show their face and own what they are saying but there are some who are hiding and they just put something there and behind it they say the most vile things. As a leader, I don't mind being insulted. I've been insulted, I was vilified, I was voted out of office. So for me, this skin is a crocodile skin. So if you insult me, I don't mind.

The President said the bigger question was not whether he personally could tolerate insults, but what Ghana as a country wants to do about the regulation of TikTok and other new media platforms.

He said the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) should bring relevant stakeholders together for a workshop or forum to discuss the issue.

I can tell the IGP, we can go to cabinet and say lay off, let anybody insult anybody, let's leave it free for all, don't arrest anybody for anything they say. We can do that but is that what we want? And so I said what we should do is, Ghana Journalists Association, you saw the letter from my executive secretary, Media Foundation for West Africa, bring all the stakeholders together and hold a workshop or a forum and let's all collectively take a decision on what we want to do with the new media. Should the police get involved or they shouldn't get involved? How do we regulate it?

He suggested that the discussions should consider questions including whether the police should become involved in dealing with online content and what form regulation should take.

President Mahama said there was a need to be careful about arrests because law enforcement could potentially go beyond addressing genuinely harmful conduct.

“Once you start arresting, you don't know where to stop,” he said.

President Mahama's comments come against the backdrop of a series of arrests in August and September 2025 that have sparked debate about free speech.

For President Mahama, the debate now is about finding a national approach to the rapidly changing media environment without undermining legitimate freedom of expression.