Access Now, together with several human rights organizations, is calling on MTN Group to protect mobile service subscribers and ensure transparency and accountability for data breaches perpetuated by their subsidiaries in the Republic of Congo.
On 24 October, 2025, President Denis Sassou N’Guess revealed that he had authorized the General Directorate of Presidential Security (DGSP) to crack down on gangs, which the government has accused of orchestrating violent crime in Brazzaville, the country’s capital, and its environs. This is concerning because the DGSP’s operation, which began in late September 2024, without any formal communication from the government, is outside of the authority’s legal mandate, which is tasked with protecting the president’s security, not maintaining public order. Additionally, reports have since emerged that DGSP officers have been summarily executing people in the streets of Brazzaville, despite the fact that capital punishment is prohibited by the country’s constitution and violates constitutional rights to life and fair trial.
Since the crackdown began, human rights organizations in Congo have reported that members of the public received SMS messages sent by the DGSP via MTN Congo incentivizing them to share information on suspected gang members with authorities in exchange for a monetary reward.
Authorities cannot use urban banditry as a justification to violate the rights of people in the Republic of Congo. These arbitrary and opaque operations authorized by President Denis Sassou N’Guess are putting people at risk of state- sanctioned murder, and enabling government overreach that is infringing on the privacy and data subject rights of mobile service subscribers.Jaimee Kokonya, Africa Campaigner at Access Now
Our open letter demands that MTN Group abide by their obligations to ensure that they prevent, mitigate, and address adverse human rights impacts arising from their operations. As the majority shareholders of MTN Congo, they must launch an independent investigation into these dangerous bounty SMSs and identify how the DGSP was able to send those text messages to the companies’ subscribers. They must also review the companies’ current law enforcement sharing practices to identify potential risks to customers and provide remedies where people were negatively impacted by their actions.
Various laws in Congo place a specific duty of care on telcos with regard to subscriber data. We demand transparency from MTN with regard to this dangerous breach of that duty that has exposed people to grave violations, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.Bridget Andere, Senior Policy Analyst at Access Now
At the time of publishing, we have yet to receive a response from MTN Group.