The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) issued new guidelines on bulk SMS distribution during the general election in August 2025, imposing strict regulations on bulk SMS sending before, during and after the 2025 general election.
TCRA Director General Dr Jabiri Bakari outlined the necessary measures in a statement and warned against any acts that may undermine the authenticity of information or jeopardize national peace and unity. The core requirements of the guidelines include:
First, content must be pre-approved. All election-related bulk SMS content must undergo thorough review prior to distribution and obtain prior approval from the leadership of relevant authorities or political parties. This measure is designed to prevent the spread of inflammatory rhetoric, disinformation or content that disrupts public order.
Second, complete sending records must be retained. Service providers are required by law to keep records of all bulk SMS transmissions for audit purposes within the statutory period.
Third, compliance with communications laws and regulations is mandatory. TCRA reminds telecommunications service providers and SMS aggregators that all election-related bulk SMS content must fully comply with the "Electronic and Postal Communications Act" and relevant regulations. Dr Bakari also warned that online content providers without valid TCRA licenses, whose activities violate the "Electronic and Postal Communications Act (2010)" and the "Online Content Regulations (2020) and its 2022 amendments", will face severe legal sanctions including prosecution. TCRA calls on all stakeholders to work together to ensure that communications and content during the election do not undermine national peace, ethnic unity and the authenticity of information.
