Effects of Disinformation on the Digital Civic Space Spotlighted at the African Commission

By CIPESA Writer |

The effects of disinformation on the digital civic space have been put in the spotlight at the 77th Ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights held in Arusha, Tanzania on October 16-18, 2023.

In a  panel session titled “Promoting rights-respecting government responses to disinformation in Sub-Saharan Africa,” speakers explored how disinformation affects online rights and freedoms including freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of assembly and association and participation especially in electoral democracy. Speakers at the session, which was part of the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) Forum, were drawn from Global Partners Digital, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), ARTICLE 19 Senegal/West Africa, PROTEGE QV of Cameroon, and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria

Hlengiwe Dube of the Centre for Human Rights explored the general terrain of disinformation in Africa, including the steadily evolving information disorder. She also highlighted the LEXOTA disinformation tracker created by a project led by Global Partners Digital with several African partners,  which was intended to ensure that limitations and controls on freedom of expression and access to information, as well as assembly and association, are minimised. 

Sheetal Kumar, the Head of Engagement and Advocacy at Global Partners Digital, said the tracker is an essential tool for exploring how laws and government actions against disinformation impact freedom of expression across Sub-Saharan Africa.  The tracker is an interactive platform that allows for real time checking and comparison of laws and actions taken in 44 out of 55 African countries in response to disinformation. It provides a reference point for developments and trends.

Edrine Wanyama, a Legal Officer at CIPESA, observed that disinformation has been widely employed by governments in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda  as a excuse to enact laws and adopt regulations and  policies that to curtail the digital civic space. As a result, access to the internet, access to information, freedom of expression, assembly and association and citizen participation in electoral democracy have been widely limited. Wanyama said that, as noted in the CIPESA research on Disinformation Pathways and Effects: Case Studies from Five African Countries, internet shutdowns during elections such as in Tanzania and Uganda were partly justified as a measure against disinformation, but led to questions about the credibility of the elections.  

While discussing the advocacy initiatives undertaken by the project, Sylvie Siyam, director at Protege QV, noted that during the Covid-19 pandemic, some governments introduced measures to combat disinformation which contravene regional and international human rights standards. She said some of those measures remain in place and continue to be used to curtail freedom of expression, access to information, assembly and association.

She called for multi-stakeholder engagement especially involving CSOs, parliaments, and relevant government entities to pursue progressive policy reforms such as was witnessed by the adoption of the access to information law in Zimbabwe. 

Most of the strategies employed by states to combat disinformation largely interfere with civil liberties. Laws and policies are often utilised to limit the space within which key players such as law dons, political dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists and online activists operate. The pinch has been widely felt through increased arrests, denial of fair trial rights, denial of participation in electoral democracy, censorship of the press, curtailment of freedom of expression and access to information and limiting enjoyment of economic freedoms.  

Alfred Bulakali, Deputy Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 Senegal/West Africa, observed that disinformation endangers  civic space given the regressive measures that states often take, such as the enactment and adoption of retrogressive legislation. He called on states to use human rights-based approaches when responding to disinformation as a means to safeguarding civil liberties. Bulakali also stressed the need for capacity building of CSOs to effectively challenge regressive and draconian laws. 

The five partners provided the following joint recommendations for inclusion in the NGOs Statement to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) 77th Ordinary Session.

Recommendations for States:

  1. Review and revise disinformation laws to align with international and regional human rights law and standards, eliminating general prohibitions on vague and ambiguous information dissemination. Ensure they have a narrow scope, adequate safeguards, and cannot be weaponised against journalists and human rights defenders. Review punitive measures, repeal laws criminalising sedition and defamation in favour of civil sanctions, and ensure compliance with international human rights laws.
  2. Develop and implement laws that combat disinformation openly, inclusively, and transparently, consulting with stakeholders. Train relevant authorities on regulations without infringing human rights, clearly communicate penalties, and build safeguards against misuse.
  3. Build the capacity of relevant actors to address disinformation in compliance with international standards. This includes addressing disinformation with multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary solutions, including media literacy training, empowering fact-checkers, journalists, legislators, and regulators, taking into account vulnerable and marginalised groups, in compliance with international standards. 
  4. Conduct awareness-raising programmes on the information disorder.
  5. Desist from resorting to disproportionate measures that violate human rights like internet shutdowns or website blockages in response to disinformation. 
  6. Enact and enforce access to information laws with proactive disclosure of credible and accurate information.
  7. Create a conducive environment that promotes healthy information ecosystems and ensures that citizens have access to diverse, reliable information sources, either proactively or upon request, in line with international human rights standards on access to information.
  8. Fully enforce decisions and frameworks on decriminalisation of defamation and press libel, restrain from using specific laws to repress speech and media for information disclosure under vague disposals relating to false news.
  9. Integrate Information and Media Literacy into the curricula of journalism training centres and schools.
  10. Train law enforcement actors on public information disclosure, the protection of freedom of expression in their approach to tackling disinformation and the prevention of public and political propaganda and information manipulation.

Recommendations for Civil Society Organisations:

  1. Monitor, document, and raise awareness of illegitimate detentions or imprisonments related to disinformation charges.
  2. Strengthen the advocacy and capacity building initiatives that support legal reforms for human rights legislations and policies tackling disinformation.
  3. Include digital and media literacy in advocacy initiatives.

Recommendations for Regional and International Bodies:

  1. Issue clear guidance on how states should develop and enforce disinformation legislation in a rights-respecting manner, including through open, inclusive, and transparent policy processes and multi-stakeholder consultations.
  2. Denounce the use of disinformation laws for political purposes or to restrict the work of journalists and legitimate actors.
  3. Integrate information disorder as a priority in human rights, rule of law, democracy and governance frameworks under development cooperation (bilateral and multilateral cooperation) and access to information as a tool to achieve accountability on public governance and the Sustainable Development Agenda. 

Additional Recommendations to the African Commission Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information and other African Commission Special Mechanisms:

  1. Collaborate with stakeholders to address the information disorder in Africa.
  2. Promote the 2019 Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa for addressing the information disorder.
  3. Continuously monitor and document disinformation trends and expand the normative framework to combat disinformation.
  4. Organise country visits in member countries where disinformation laws and press libels are used to restrict speech and citizen engagement.

Uganda’s Digital ID System Hinders Citizens’ Access to Social Services

By Alice Aparo |

Uganda’s biometric digital identity program was introduced to enhance security and ease access to public services, including health units. The government embarked on a nationwide mass registration of citizens for digital national identification (ID) cards in April 2014. During the process, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images of Ugandans above the age of 16 years are captured on enrollment and stored in a centralised database.  However, more than 15 million Ugandans remain at risk of being excluded from accessing essential public services and entitlements as they lack national digital identity cards.  

Uganda’s digital ID system is an extensive, data-intensive system that links the national ID to public social services. In August 2022, Uganda announced plans to upgrade the current national identity card to include additional personal details such as blood type, palm print, and eye scan information. This system is administered primarily by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) which is also responsible for the issuance of the IDs to citizens. However, the implementation of the system falls short of the expectations of some Ugandans due to technical gaps, denial of entitlements, and the corruption among officials. By September 2022, the National Identification Register had 25.9 million Ugandans registered, with an estimated 17.4 million citizens yet to register to attain a national ID. 

The Uganda digital ID card that is commonly known as Ndaga Muntu has become a mandatory “gate pass” to access several public services and government premises. Older persons living in poverty face peculiar difficulties with the national ID system, especially those aged more than 80 years, and those who live with disabilities and are required to travel to the NIRA district offices for enrolment. Citizens who do not have the national ID cards are denied access to services such as Uganda’s Senior Citizens’ Grants, National Health System, School capitation grants, property acquisition, access to land title deeds and assets registration, National Social Security Fund’s social security benefits delivery, driving permits, SIM card registration, bank account opening, passport acquisition and voter registration. 

In addition, unregistered pregnant women are sometimes unable to access health services without the Ndaga Muntu. Further, citizens without the Ndaga Muntu, are often questioned by law enforcement officials about their identity and nationality.

Given these challenges, Ugandan-based civil society organisations (CSOs) sued the government of Uganda over the national digital ID at the Uganda High Court. They highlighted the exclusion of millions of unregistered Ugandans, such as aged persons, vulnerable persons, and persons with disabilities, and people with errors on the ID Cards who are limited from accessing potential life-saving services. The CSOs requested the court to declare that sole reliance on the national ID system to access health services and Social Assistant Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) benefits, among other social services, is exclusionary and discriminatory and violates human rights. 

On March 23, 2023, Uganda’s High Court accepted an ‘Amicus Curiae’ brief from three human rights organisations, Access Now, ARTICLE 19, and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), in a suit challenging the country’s national digital identity scheme. The brief presents expert opinion to the Court on the potential impact of the digital ID program on human rights including the right to privacy, the right to freedom of expression, as well as intersecting economic, social, and cultural rights, by providing experiences from national, sub-regional, regional and international levels.

In conclusion, many Ugandans still lack the national ID. Therefore, the government should implement alternative means of identification to enable those without a national ID to access national public services without discrimination. In addition, it should put in place measures to address the challenges faced in the roll-out of the cards and fast-track the issuance of cards to those already enrolled.

Digital Rights Hub of African Civil Society Organisations

By Edrine Wanyama |

Since 2016, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has been partnering with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) to improve African digital civic spaces. 

At the September  Forum on internet Freedoms in Africa, CIPESA and ICNL convened a digital rights hub in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania aimed at promoting the digital civic space in Africa. The hub brought together civil society organisations (CSOs) representatives from 10 African countries. 

Across the continent, there is increased demand for democratic rule yet civic spaces continue to be undermined by state autocracy which still prevails in at least half the continent.  Rights and freedoms such as assembly, association, access to information and data privacy in the online space continue to be curtailed. This is despite that 2016  UN Human Rights Council Resolution  that called for the protection of rights afforded offline, to be applied in equal measure online.

The hub  held discussions on the relationship between digital civic space and its importance to CSOs and the internet infrastructure governance. 

Further insights were drawn from developments on artificial intelligence, surveillance, privacy rights, network disruptions, online content moderation, and the burgeoning concerns on  disinformation and its impact on the digital society. 

The hub concluded by defining the  role of CSOs in protecting the digital civic space through effective advocacy strategies such as litigation, legal analysis and the law making process, capacity building of key stakeholders including parliamentarians and making use of regional human rights monitoring mechanisms such as the United Nations Human Rights Council mechanisms like Universal Periodic Review and Special Rapporteurs and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights monitoring mechanisms were enumerated.  

The emerging statement from the convening can be accessed here

Ford Foundation Launches First Global South Network to Strengthen the Digital Resilience of Civil Society

Announcement |

With $15 million in seed funding, the Global Network for Social Justice and Digital Resilience supports 10 Global South-led organizations that provide technical support to civil society in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Kyoto, Japan (October 10, 2023) – Today, the Ford Foundation announced the launch of the Global Network for Social Justice and Digital Resilience, a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to increase the technical capacities of civil society organizations across the Global South. 

With $15 million in seed funding, the mission of the Digital Resilience Network is to ensure frontline organizations across the Global South can better leverage the benefits of technology while minimizing its harms, which can include online surveillance, censorship, and misinformation. The Digital Resilience Network is managed by an independent board. 

This initiative supports an initial cohort of 10 organizations that provide technical support to civil society organizations in the Global South. These groups are predominantly based in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, where the harms and uneven benefits of technology are most pronounced. 

Over the past decade, technologies have grown increasingly sophisticated in restricting, excluding, and intimidating the work of social justice communities in the Global South, including those advancing gender and environmental justice. From escalating uses of spyware that targets human rights defenders to widespread misinformation campaigns and internet shutdowns, online tactics have been weaponized to increase polarization, compromise elections, and undermine democratic processes.

Groups offering technical support and consultation to civil society are limited and have long been concentrated in the Global North. Civil society in the Global South lacks access to in-region technical experts who can answer the growing needs and demands of frontline social justice organizations in their local and cultural contexts. 

The Digital Resilience Network, launched at a side event at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, addresses these field-wide issues by supporting a cohort of Global South-based technical support organizations who will network, accelerate learning, and transfer technical capacities and knowledge to frontline civil society organizations, where the greatest needs and threats related to technology exist. The Network incorporates equality, inclusion, diversity, and feminist values into its processes. It aims to:

  • Increase domestic and regional tech capacity among social justice organizations in the Global South
  • Diversify the field of technologists to include more leaders who are women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming, are people of color, and are from communities of color
  • Foster South-to-South peer learning among organizations working to strengthen digital infrastructure and resilience
  • Increase global strategic collaboration among social justice and technology organizations
  • Increase funds supporting the strengthening of digital resilience for social justice organizations

“The Global Network for Social Justice and Digital Resilience is a critical tool to advance social equity and counter the digitally-driven democratic backslide across the Global South,” said Alberto Cerda Silva, program officer of Ford Foundation’s Technology and Society program. “Whether it’s confronting malicious software that targets civil society or building avenues for social justice communities to leverage the benefits of technology, in-region technical support is key. This initiative brings to life the thesis that those closest to the challenge are closest to the solution. We hope this project serves as a model for philanthropy going forward.” 

Network members have spent years at the leading edge of digital resilience but have lacked the resources needed to address the manifold digital threats that civil society faces. The work of these groups has ranged from conducting threat intelligence to providing security support including digital, legal, and physical elements; from equipping disconnected communities with autonomous infrastructures to  advancing digital inclusion for people with disabilities.

“It’s impossible to overstate the need for a digital resilience network focused on the Global South,” said Ashnah Kalemera, program manager for the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa. “It promotes South-to-South peer learning and a chance to share experiences from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. The opportunity to share knowledge about opportunities and challenges excites us the most. We are grateful to have the chance to learn, reflect, and adapt with sister organizations.” 

The initial cohort supported by the Digital Resilience Network are Núcleo de Pesquizas, Estudios y Formación (Brazil)the Citizen Lab (Canada)Derechos Digitales (Chile)Fundación Acceso (Costa Rica)The Engine Room (Global)Centre for Internet & Society (India)Social Media Exchange (Lebanon)SocialTIC (Mexico)Co-Creation Hub (Nigeria), and Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (Uganda).

“Digital resilience holds equity at its core,” said Paola Mosso, co-deputy director of The Engine Room. “It points to the ability of organizations to design digital ecosystems where everyone can participate in meaningful ways by keeping infrastructures human and environment-centered, safe, and adaptable to ever-changing contexts.”

This article was first posted by the Global Network for Social Justice and Digital Resilience on Oct 10, 2023

Road Trip to #FIFAfrica23: The Journey Has Begun!

By CIPESA Writer |

A team of eight have embarked on a road trip spanning from Uganda through Kenya, ultimately reaching Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in time for the highly-anticipated Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica). This year, the Collaboration International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), the Defenders Protection Initiative (DPI), and DigiSec Initiative have joined forces for the Road to #FIFAfrica23 campaign, aiming to raise awareness about the invaluable importance of robust digital security practices among a wider range of stakeholders.

Building on the success of last year’s Road to FIFAfrica22, where digital security expert Andrew Gole covered a staggering 10,300 kilometers by motorbike, traversing Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zanzibar, this year’s trip will continue to provide vital support to organisations along the way with the team offering enhance digital security skills, fortifying organisations against potential threats.

The road trip serves as a prelude to the Digital Security Hub, which has become a pivotal component of the Forum. This multilingual hub assembles international digital security experts who offer on-site assistance to Forum attendees. They provide counsel and technical support on an array of topics, from secure communications to information security and data privacy. Additionally, they offer licensed software and supported activations for antivirus and encryption, reinforcing the digital fortitude of participants.

We look forward to their arrival at the FIFAfrica23 venue on September 27, 2023! 

In the meantime, below are some posts about the road trip. Follow the hashtag #FIFAfrica23 for updates about the trip by @cipesaug, @defprotection and @goleandrew! Be sure to cheer the team on. You can also share your thoughts about digital security in Africa and its relationship to #InternetFreedomAfrica.

Be sure to visit the Digital Security Hub at the Forum!

Media Support: Send media queries to: [email protected]

FIFAfrica23 Team

Organizer,

Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2023 (#FIFAfrica23)