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11Jul

A New Interception Law and Blocked Websites: The Deteriorating State of Internet Freedom in Burundi

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By CIPESA Writer |

 The state of internet freedom in Burundi continues to decline as the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza tightens control over independent media and critical online publishers. Of recent, frivolous sanctions have been slapped against media houses, access to some online publishers’ websites restricted, and last May, an obnoxious law was enacted that makes it easier for security agencies to conduct surveillance on citizens’ communications with little judicial oversight.

The deteriorating situation follows a May 2015 coup attempt which saw the physical destruction of five private radio and televisions stations by loyalist forces and pro-government militia, and the arrest of several journalists. The events were preceded by a government order to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Viber, so as to curtail demonstrations against Nkurunziza’s bid to run for a new term in office.

On May 11, 2018 Burundi’s president assented to Law No 1/09 of May 11 2018, which amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 2013. Under Article 47 of the new law, government agencies carrying out investigations can intercept electronic communications and seize computer data. Further, Articles 69, 70 and 71, permit the public prosecutor to issue a written order to start interception of electronic communication of a person under investigation.  Moreover, the public prosecutor has the right to instruct service providers and “any qualified agent” from a department or agency under the authority or supervision of the telecoms minister to install any device to facilitate interception.

On the issue of seizure of computer data, Article 72 grants the public prosecutor, without notifying a person under investigation, the right to order the use of technical tools to access data on the suspect’s device (wherever it is located), to save that data, and transmit it. The tool also has the aim of real time capture of data being received or transmitted by the suspect’s device or being typed on the device. The initial duration of this order is a maximum of six months but this period can be extended for another six months if needed. The seized data has to be destroyed after trial. Articles 73 to 79 provide details of conditions in which the technical tool is used.

The new law, which was introduced on April 28 and passed within two weeks, is deemed to be in contravention of the constitution. A human right activist has stated  that the law is “clearly a wish to legalise the illegal and arbitrary practices that the forces of law and order have already resorted to for the last three years.” On the contrary, the justice minister defended the law, arguing that the amendments were necessary to give the prosecutor and other government organs powers to address new forms of criminal activity that have emerged in the last few years.

The amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure come into place when online news media is under attack. Since October 2017, the websites of independent local news publishers http://www.iwacu-burundi.org, http://www.isanganiro.org, and http://www.ikiriho.org cannot be accessed from Burundi except through use of circumvention methods such as proxies. Tests using the network measurement tool, Ooni probe  indicate that the websites are blocked from access within Burundi.

In interviews, Iwacu officials confirmed that access to their website was blocked but the Conseil National de la Communication (Burundi’s media regulator) denies any hand in it. Some experts believe the blockage was effected at the level of the Burundi Backbone System (BBS), the primary bandwidth carrier from which most Burundian ISPs purchase bandwidth. Representatives from BBS denied this allegation and advised the news sites to work with ISPs to resolve the matter. Meanwhile, an October 2017 letter to the CNC from the Ikiriho group, an independent online press group (www.ikiriho.org), requesting that its website be unblocked has never received a response.

Interestingly, Isanganiro’s radio station still operates from within Burundi, as is Iwacu’s weekly print newspaper. Online access to the electronic version of Iwacu’s weekly newspaper is charged at USD 27 for a three months subscription, or USD 95 yearly, which means the challenges in accessing its website is affecting the publisher’s revenues. Iwacu accordingly announced an alternative website where readers can access news and has been assisting readers, particularly paying customers, to access its main site using virtual private networks (VPN).

On April 10, 2018, in what seemed like an additional sanction against the online portal, the CNC issued its decision No 100/ CNC/005 ordering Iwacu to ban the comments section of its online news website. The ban followed comments made by the website readers referring to Burundi as a “Banana Republic” while another called the National Police a “presidential police” due to its partisan actions. According to the regulator, the comments violated Article 17 of the Burundi press law No 1/15 of May 9 2015, which requires media groups to rigorously cross-check sources of information before publishing. The three months ban on readers’ comments, is the second slapped on Iwacu by the CNC, the first having been issued in 2013 for similar reasons.

In sanctioning Iwacu, the CNC cited article 55 of the press Law, which gives the communications regulator “the right to suspend or prohibit the use of a press pass (journalist pass or press card), the distribution or the sale of a printed newspapers, a periodical, or any other information medium, the broadcast of a show, the operation of a radio or television station or a news agency, when they do not comply with the law.”

The Iwacu director expressed his sadness at what he deemed an “unfair decision” that would close a “democratic space” where all opinions, both critical and supportive of the Burundi were shared. Nonetheless the comments section was promptly shut down, and currently under each news item there is a message reading: “Due to the CNC’s decision, you cannot react nor add any comment to this article.

In another worrying development, on May 4, 2018, the CNC issued warnings to three radio stations – Radio Isanganiro, Radio CCIB FM+, and Radio France International (RFI, and suspended the licences for BBC and Voice of America (VOA) for six months on allegations of not verifying sources and  broadcasting unbalanced news. The BBC was faulted for interviewing Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a Burundian human rights defender who fled Burundi after an assassination attempt in 2015. The regulator claims that, in the interview which aired on April 24, 2018, the activist who is now based in Europe made “defamatory statements against the head of state” and incited “hatred”.

The VOA was accused of publishing unverified news on three occasions during April 2018. In addition, the VOA was accused of broadcasting through the Online Radio Box application used by Radio Bonesha, a local station whose frequency license was withdrawn by the media regulator last September. Radio Bonesha is among the media houses whose premises were destroyed in 2015 following the coup attempt but it has continued broadcasting via Online Radio Box.

The various developments in the online sphere reflect a similarly worrying rights situation offline. Nkurunziza’s government has continued to face criticism at home and abroad, including accusations by a United Nations committee of inquiry of extrajudicial killings of civilians, including supporters of the opposition, in what could amount to crimes against humanity.

Some observers believe that all criminal code amendments and measures against online and traditional media aimed to silence dissonant voices at a time the country was about to hold a May 17, 2018 referendum on a new constitution. Majority of voters – 73% – voted in favour of the new constitution but opponents say the poll was full of irregularities.

The Burundi government needs to respect the constitutional rights to free speech, access to information and privacy of the citizens and desist from enacting laws and taking other actions that undermine digital rights. Moreover, it should desist from passing laws and regulations without giving citizens the opportunity to meaningfully provide their views.

 

10Jul

NetBlocks and CIPESA to launch COST tool at the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa

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Announcement |
LONDON — Today, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and digital rights group NetBlocks are announcing plans for the Africa launch of the Cost of Shutdown Tool – COST, at the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) 2018, set to take place 26 – 28 September, 2018, in Accra, Ghana.
The tool, developed by NetBlocks in collaboration with the Internet Society and first unveiled at RightsCon Toronto in May 2018, is aimed at automating the task of economic estimation of the impact of internet shutdowns, mobile data blackouts and social media restrictions. It draws inspiration from the new model for calculating the economic impact of shutdowns in sub-Saharan Africa launched by CIPESA last September as well as earlier research by the Brookings Institution.

Lаunching the COST tool at FIFAfrica is vital to support the advocacy and documentation efforts against shutdowns on the continent,” Ashnah Kalemera, Programme Manager, CIPESA, said.
“We hope that the economic loss proven by the tool will support litigation efforts as well strengthen pushbacks which will include the private sector”, she added.
CIPESA and NetBlocks will move forward as official partners. Both organisations are part of the #KeepItOn coalition against internet shutdowns, and support fast, reliable and open access to the Internet and knowledge online as a tenet of democracy, freedom of speech and economic prosperity.
“We are ecstatic to be partnering with CIPESA, one of the leading research and policy think-tanks in the region. Their expertise will ensure our work on Africa is accurate and up-to-date”, Hannah Machlin, Global Advocacy Manager, NetBlocks said.
Their collaboration will provide access to new network measurement techniques that can detect telecommunications blackouts and emerging threats to internet freedom in real-time, aiding the development of sustainable rights-based ICT policies.
CIPESA was established in 2004 under the Catalysing Access to Information and Communications Technology in Africa (CATIA) initiative, which was mainly funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID). CIPESA works to enable policy makers in the region to understand ICT policy issues, and for various stakeholders to use ICT to improve governance and livelihoods. They currently approach their work through four different but interrelated thematic areas, namely promoting online freedom, ICT for democracy and civic participation, the right to information, and contributing to internet governance debate at national, regional and global level.
The NetBlocks Group is a civil society initiative building new techniques for network measurement that support freedom of expression and digital transparency, defending access to free and open technology and working on the security and privacy of core internet standards at groups including the Internet Engineering Task Force.

05Jul

MFWA to Co-Host Africa’s Biggest Internet Freedom Event

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Announcement |

From September 26 to 28, 2018, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) will co-host Africa’s biggest Internet freedom forum in Accra, Ghana.  The annual convening, which is dubbed Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) brings together key stakeholders in the Internet governance and online/digital rights environment from the continent and beyond.

The MFWA will be hosting the forum jointly with the Uganda-based organization, Collaboration for International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). The forum is convened annually by CIPESA to deliberate on developments, challenges, opportunities and ways of improving the Internet ecosystem in Africa.  Participants also adopt strategies aimed at enhancing citizens’ digital or internet rights on the continent.

This is the first time the FIFAfrica event is being held in West Africa. Last year’s event was held in South Africa while the maiden event in 2014 and subsequent editions were held in Uganda.

The internet has become a vital tool for enhancing freedom of expression, access to information and citizens’ participation in national discourse and governance. At the same time, it is the target of hostile policies and practices by some governments. It is thus important for all stakeholders to dialogue on how to preserve the internet for development.

“The MFWA is delighted to co-host this important continental forum on Internet freedom. There couldn’t have been a better time to host this event in West Africa as the region is currently witnessing significant developments and challenges in the internet environment,” said Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA.

Online freedom of expression has come under attack in recent years in Africa. Over the past one year, countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have passed laws to restrict internet freedom.  There have also been network disruptions and shutdowns in about seven African countries over the same period. Besides, there have been increasing incidents of arrest and detentions of citizens, bloggers and journalists for their social media activities.

The FIFAfrica event will also coincide with the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), which is observed on September 28 each year. The day has been set aside by the UNESCO to mark the importance of universal public access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms.

The FIFAfrica event is scheduled to take place at the La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, and is expected to host about 300 participants from dozens of countries in Africa and around the world.

You can learn more about the event by visiting the event website at:  https://cipesa.org/fifafrica/ or follow the #FIFAfrica18.

For further information or inquiries, kindly contact Felicia Anthonio on [email protected] or +233 206 972 867.

This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on July 4, 2018 and Africafex.org.

03Jul

Apply For UPRoar: Advocating for Internet Freedom with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

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Apply Now |
Are you interested in Internet Freedom? Are you worried about the social and economic impact of internet shutdowns? The increase of media censorship? Is your government using outdated media laws to regulate online spaces? Are they inventing new policies to clamp down on internet users? Do you want to do something about it?! Then read on!
In the lead up to the 2018 Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), Small Media and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) are hosting a 2-day interactive capacity building workshop on Internet Freedom and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The workshop is part of a wider project working to support civil society organisations across Africa to engage with the UPR process through research, capacity development and developing tools to support internet freedom advocacy.
If your application is accepted, you’ll join us in Accra, Ghana, where you and your co-participants will work together on interactive projects with the guidance of our trainers and mentors. You’ll be introduced to the UPR process, learn how to leverage different moments during the UPR timeline for advocacy, practice gathering and analysing data and creating infographic material to campaign around key issues relating to internet freedom, and create a practical advocacy plan that you can implement to follow up on recommendations made in the periodic reviews.
The shining stars who attend this workshop will also have the opportunity to apply to attend a DATA4CHAN.GE (D4C) workshop in 2019 where they will develop data driven advocacy campaigns that support independent research or organisation UPR objectives.
Eligibility
This call is open to individuals who are interested in and preferably have experience in human rights advocacy and are active in the following countries: Angola, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Applicants must have knowledge of Africa’s ICT sector and its role in development and governance. Participants must ensure availability for the duration of the workshop as well as FIFAfrica – 4 days excluding travel.
Interested?
Complete the application form here.
The deadline for applications is 18.00 East African Time on July 31, 2018.
For questions, please email [email protected].

01Jul

Uganda Blocks Access to Social Media, VPNs and Dating Sites as New Tax Takes Effect

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By Juliet Nanfuka |
As of midnight on July 1, 2018, telecom companies in Uganda blocked access to social media platforms for all users and required them to pay a newly introduced Over-The-Top” (OTT) tax before regaining access. The tax resulted from a March 2018 presidential directive for social media to be taxed to raise resources “to cope with the consequences” of social media users’ “opinions, prejudices [and] insults”.

“In a context in which social media has served as many users’ initial entry point to the internet, this tax could negatively impact the affordability and broader use of the internet, particularly by low-income Ugandans, as well as stifle freedom of expression, association and assembly online.”

Joint oral statement to UN Human Rights Commission on Social Media Taxes by APC, CIPESA,  Derechos Digitales and WOUGNET

The directive proposed that up to UGX 400 billion (USD 108 million) per annum could be collected through the taxes. Projections from the June 14 national budget speech for the fiscal year 2018/19 indicated that up to UGX 486 billion (USD 131 million) could be collected annually by 2022. Earlier in May, Uganda’s parliament passed the Excise Duty Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which introduced a mandatory fee of UGX 200 (USD 0.05) per day of use for services that include messaging and voice calls via Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and Viber.

The tax will likely push basic connectivity further out of reach for millions. At the USD 0.05 per day, a Ugandan user would need to fork out USD 1.5 per in monthly fees to access the OTT services. That would be hugely prohibitive since the average revenue per user (ARPU) of telecom services in Uganda stands at just USD 2.5 per month.
According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), at the end of 2016, a 1GB mobile broadband plan in Uganda cost more than 15% of average monthly income. The A4AI further states that with the excise duty in place, this cost to connect for Uganda’s poorest will jump by 10%, resulting in just 1GB of data costing them nearly 40% of their average monthly income.
Section 2 of the Excise Duty Amendment Act provides that the tax will apply to “the transmission or receipt of voice or messages over the internet protocol network and includes access to virtual private networks but does not include educational or research sites prescribed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.” The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has listed sites such as professional networking platform LinkedIn and dating sites such as Badoo and Tinder among those that would be accessed only upon payment. The government has not stated what constitutes educational or research sites.
As of September 2017, Uganda had an internet penetration rate of 48%, in a country of 41 million people. Research shows that at least one in nine internet users in the country is signed up for a social networking site, with Facebook and WhatsApp the most popular. The introduction of the tax has accordingly elicited strong opposition from users including the limitation of payment only through mobile money, Electronic Virtual Cash (EVC) or any electronic wallet.
The Excise Duty Amendment Act also introduced a 1% tax on the value of every mobile money transaction which users will also have to pay in addition to the OTT tax. The Act also raised the tax on airtime for cellular, landline and public payphones from 5% to 12% and increased the tax on mobile money transfers from 10% to 15%.


Some users are expressing frustration with having to pay twice – first the OTT tax, then the 1% tax on every mobile money transaction – in order to access social media and other blocked sites.
Many social media users have turned to using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to remain online and avoid the taxes. This is a similar stance to that taken during 2016, when Uganda had social media shutdowns on two occasions, leading to a surge in VPN use. However, access to some VPN sites – particularly free ones – has also been blocked and knowledge about VPN access and use is largely limited to tech savvy users. Further, there remains concern on the extent to which VPNs will be an affordable option due to their heavy data requirements.


A poll conducted by Daily Monitor newspaper on its Twitter handle showed that 19% of the 581 tweeps who participated would spend less time on social media, 11% would stop using social media, while 70% would resort to using VPN.
Further, imposition of the tax has consequences on net neutrality which requires that the Internet be maintained as an open platform on which network providers treat all content, applications and services equally, without discrimination. The tax effectively limits access to social media sites which are a primary entry point for many new users to the internet in developing countries including Uganda. Indeed, it is in social media platforms that many have found relatable local content including avenues for knowledge exchange, civic participation and economic opportunity.


Telecommunications companies had previously sought  to tap into the popularity of OTTs by offering competitive social medias data packages – such as such as MTNs SWIFT (Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) and WTF (WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook) – resulting in what was popularly referred to as “data price wars” that led to a drop in the price of access.
Meanwhile, the state also found value in the use of social media as an avenue for engaging with citizens and required all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to pursue a social media strategy to promote state-civic interaction which aimed at “improving effectiveness of communication, sharing of information and open engagement and discussions with the Public.” Results of the Uganda national IT survey 2017/18 indicated that 92% of MDAs have a social media presence with most using Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp as their primary platforms for information dissemination and engagement with citizens.

Source: National IT Survey 2017/18

The Uganda government did not conduct any public consultations before introducing the OTT tax, which is testament to the absence of a multi-stakeholder model of internet governance that would enable the perspectives of diverse stakeholders to support more informed policy decisions. This tax comes on the heels of a directive last March by the communications regulator for registration of online content providers. Uganda is potentially setting a worrying trend for the region, as neighbours Tanzania and Congo have similarly issued stringent online content regulations that threaten citizens’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression and promote self-censorship.
 

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