Leaked audio clips risk Mauritius' national security, says PM's office; social media suspended till after polls

Port Louis: The office of Mauritius' Prime Minister said on Friday a batch of audio clips published on social media in the last two weeks may have compromised the country's national security.

Some twenty conversations involving politicians, police, lawyers, journalists and members of civil society have been leaked on social media since mid-October, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders says.

Mauritius's communications regulator said on Friday all internet service providers must suspend access to social media platforms until Nov 11, a day after the upcoming general election, as the country reels from a wiretapping scandal.

In the Nov 10 election, Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is looking to hold onto his Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party's majority in parliament and give himself another five years in office.

Jugnauth and the police have claimed the leaked calls were manipulated using artificial intelligence.