Online Freedoms

By Juliet Nanfuka | On May 30, 2018, Uganda’s parliament passed the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill 2018, which will see users of Over-The-Top (OTT) services that include messaging and voice calls via Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and Viber pay a mandatory fee of UGX 200 (USD 0.05) per day of use. In another move that could […] Read more

By Juliet Nanfuka | Barely two weeks after the presidential assent to the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, a High Court judge has issued a conservatory order suspending the entry into force of 26 sections of Kenya’s contentious Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018. The order by Judge Chacha Mwita, suspending the sections until […] Read more

By Edrine Wanyama | It is anticipated that by 2025, there will be at least 5.9 billion mobile subscribers accounting for 71% of the world’s population. As of 2017,  Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) had  a mobile subscription rate of 44% which is projected to reach  52% by 2025. Further, SSA’s mobile internet penetration by 2017 stood […] Read more

By Ashnah Kalemera | Tanzania has issued online content regulations that oblige bloggers, owners of discussion forums, as well as radio and television streaming services to register with the communications regulator and to pay hefty licensing and annual fees. There are three types of licences. A license for provision of online content services comes at […] Read more

  By Daniel Mwesigwa | Uganda has become the latest East African country to threaten access to information and free speech online by putting in place measures that require the registration of online content providers. In a notice issued earlier this month, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) called for online publishers, news platforms, radio and […] Read more

Call For Proposals | A coalition of prominent internet rights policy and civil society advocates are pleased to issue this open call for proposals for a consultancy on “Mapping and Making Available Evidence-Based Research for Internet Policies in Africa.” This international Call for Proposals invites submissions from researchers, academicians, scholars, and professionals. Successful proposals will […] Read more

By Juliet Nanfuka | The pushback against internet shutdowns in Cameroon has recently taken a new turn with advocacy organisations filing formal submissions before the Supreme Court of Cameroon. In their January 2018 submission, AccessNow and Internet Sans Frontières (ISF) highlight Cameroon’s commitment to international and regional human rights law and urge judges to recognise […] Read more

Official Submission | Article 27 of Uganda’s constitution provides for citizens’ right to privacy, however, there is no law to protect an individual’s data privacy despite the large amounts of citizen data collected by government departments and private entities on a regular basis. More concerning, is that this data is collected with no guarantee of […] Read more

By Edrine Wanyama | Internet access and Short Message Services (SMS) were interrupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) on January 20, 2018 ahead of a peaceful protest march organised by the Catholic Church to compel President Joseph Kabila to step down following the expiry of his final term in office. The country […] Read more

Online Chat | On Friday December 15, 2017, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) will spend some time sharing insights on internet shutdowns. Between 15h00 and 16h00 East African Time (EAT) we will explore the spate of shutdowns affecting Sub-Saharan Africa and the efforts to navigate them. Have you experienced an internet […] Read more