Social Media

By CIPESA Writer | The African Internet Rights Alliance (AIRA), a coalition of civil society organisations from around the continent, has racked up various joint interventions to advance digital rights on the continent. The Alliance works to promote privacy and data protection, affordability and access to the internet, access to information and freedoms of assembly, expression […] Read more

By Edrine Wanyama | In April 2021, Mozambique’s human rights record will be assessed under the Universal Peer Review (UPR) process at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The assessment will need to shine a light on Mozambique’s record on online and offline rights to privacy, access to information, and free expression, which are increasingly under […] Read more

By Jimmy Kainja | The spread of false or misleading information online is due to various reasons. A recent BBC study on fake news in Africa found that sharing news online can be socially validating; because “being the first to share a story in your group of friends, showing others you are in the know […] Read more

Joint Letter | The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has joined 30 international human  rights advocacy groups of the #KeepItOn coalition in urging authorities in Burundi to ensure that the May 20, 2020 elections will be void of any network disruption of digital communications  and to enable voters to freely elect their […] Read more

By Simone Toussi | In July 2019, the Chadian government lifted a 16-month blockage on access to social media, which it had imposed in March 2018. While connected citizens are now able to access social media with ease, various concerns remain. Digital communication costs are prohibitively high, the media are routinely muzzled, the country is […] Read more

By Juliet Nanfuka | In July 2018, the government of Uganda implemented a tax on individual users of social media platforms. In the first three months following the introduction of the tax in the country, internet penetration dropped from 47 percent to 35 percent. Given that a significant amount of news circulation now happens via […] Read more

Statement | Civil society representatives, lawyers, and journalists from East and Central Africa have called upon their governments to develop policies that protect citizens’ digital rights and promote the use of the internet for free expression and for pursuing economic and education opportunities. The call was made amidst growing concerns that an increasing number of […] Read more

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 […] Read more

By Alliance For Affordable Internet | Uganda’s government has passed a new tax that will require citizens to pay UGX 200 (US$0.05) per day in order to use messaging and voice over-the-top services (OTTs), including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Viber. The tax, slated to take effect on 1 July, will push the cost of basic […] 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