Social Media Archives – Page 9 of 16 – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

30Nov

Universal Peer Review: Mozambique Should Guarantee Digital Rights

CIPESA November 30, 2020

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 threat in the southern Afican country.

The UPR process offers all UN member states the opportunity to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. In the previous review, nine of the 227 recommendations made to Mozambique were related to freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information. In response, the Mozambican government supported six of the nine recommendations and by implication was to take steps and measures that aim to protect and promote the respective rights. However, various developments in the country make it imperative to reflect on recommendations made during Mozambique’s last UPR assessment, with a view to supporting the realisation of digital freedoms as part of the upcoming review.

Despite constitutional provisions for freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the right to information, in 2018 Mozambique introduced a draconian media law, Decree No. 40/2018. The legislation was revoked two years later in May 2020 following a Constitutional Court petition by six organisations – Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Mozambique Chapter, Association of Journalistic Companies, National Forum of Community Radios, Centre for Public Integrity, Mozambican Bar Association and the Emergency Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Freedoms. The court declared that the decree was unconstitutional since it introduced prohibitive costs on the exercise of the journalism profession for foreign correspondents and local freelance journalists.

Mozambique is ranked 104 out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, which is a drop by one position from 2019. Journalists and media houses are threatened by an increasingly shrinking operating space. Indeed, the October 2019 general election was marred by attacks on the media, which included use of threatening messages through social media and SMS. Some journalists, especially in the northern part of the country, were intimidated while others were arrested, persecuted, detained and prosecuted.

More recently, the insurgency in Cabo Delgado and the Covid-19 State of Emergency have elicited state measures that threaten freedom of expression, opinion and the right to access information. Notably, the decree that instituted a state of emergency barred the media from transmitting Covid-19 information that is “contrary to official information”, arbitrarily restricting journalistic information and interfering with editorial independence.

There is some goodwill for openness by the government and increasing numbers of persons using the internet – yet Mozambique has a low score in internet affordability with women being most affected. As of 2018, only 20.8% of Mozambique’s population used the internet, while 26 in every 100 inhabitants had mobile broadband subscription. As of January 2019, the internet penetration rate stood at 17%.

Amidst a narrowing civic space, there are some measures to improve cybersecurity yet, worryingly, the country has dropped on the Global Cybersecurity Index by 23 places. On individual privacy protections online, Mozambique is still without a data protection law. However towards the end of 2019, Mozambique revised its Penal Code, introducing provisions related to the invasion of privacy. The new Penal Code provisions outlawed the interception, recording, transmission or disclosure of online communications, including email, messages, audio-visual and social media content without consent.

To buttress the protection and enjoyment of digital rights, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Small Media, Fórum das Associações Moçambicanas das Pessoas com Deficiência (FAMOD) and the Associação de Cegos e Amblíopes de Moçambique have made a joint stakeholder submission on digital rights in Mozambique. The submission focuses on various developments in the country on freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of information and censorship of content, the right to equal access and opportunity, and the right to data protection and privacy on the internet. It draws experiences from Mozambique’s review of January 19, 2016.

Below are some of the recommendations made in the submission:

Enhance capacity building efforts to enforce the right to information law, including encouraging proactive disclosure and compliance with timely responses to information requests.
Repeal provisions of the Covid-19 Emergency Decree, which are contrary to national and international obligations on freedom of expression and access to information and promote open reporting and commentary on issues of public concern.
Institute an independent body to investigate, hold accountable and deter security forces who repeatedly violate journalists’ rights, especially those covering elections and the insurrection in the North.
Implement measures to promote inclusive access for marginalised and vulnerable groups including women, rural communities and persons with disabilities, with funding from the Universal Service Fund.
Enact a data protection law, in line with international and regional standards through multi-stakeholder consultative processes.

See the full submission here.

07Oct

How Lack of Access to Information and ICTs has fueled Disinformation in Malawi

CIPESA October 7, 2020

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 and provoking discussion make social media users feel good. Sometimes people will rush to share information not knowing if it is true.” The study added: “… most people do not consume their online news in-depth or critically, and many users will share stories based on a headline or image without having digested it in detail themselves.”

In Malawi, the combination of lack of an enabling access to information law and limited access to the internet has left Malawians vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation.

On December 14, 2016, Malawi Parliament passed an Access to Information Bill, 12 years after its drafting. The then President, Peter Mutharika, assented to the bill into law on February 15, 2017. The purpose of the law is to promote transparency and accountability in the country by providing for “the right of access to information in the custody of the public bodies and relevant private bodies; the process and the procedures related to obtaining the information.”

The news of the presidential assent was perfectly timed – as it coincided with a BBC Africa debate on “fake news” at Ryalls Hotel, in Malawi’s Commercial City, Blantyre. In attendance was the Minister of Information and the State President’s Director of Communications. While the President was rightly applauded for assenting to the bill, the timing of the announcement on a live BBC programme appeared to be a government publicity stunt. Consequently, some analysts warned of a long battle ahead to get the law operationalised.

The long struggle to have the access to information law passed and operationalised is an indication of the resolve of successive political administrations to limit the flow of information held by public institutions. This may be the reason why for a long time the Malawi government has also shown little interest in improving access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) – which have been proven to broaden information flow and provide platforms for citizens to demand transparency and accountability of duty bearers.

As of 2019, Malawi’s internet penetration stood at only 13.9%, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Among the primary factors limiting access to the internet in Malawi is the cost, with the average price beyond the means of citizens. Indeed, a recent study found that the internet in Malawi is among the most expensive in the world.

Print media is also scarce and expensive. With just two leading media groups – Nation Publication Limited (NPL) and The Times Group, Malawi has only two daily newspapers (with a circulation of 9,000 each), two Saturday newspapers and two Sunday newspapers with a combined circulation of 12,000 in a population of 17.5 million. Newspapers are all in English, a language spoken by the minority. The newspapers cost K600 ($0.79), for Sunday to Friday and Saturtuday papers, which has vernacular language cost K700 ($0.92) per copy, which translates to about K14,400 ($5.81) and K2,800 (3.69) monthly, against a national minimum monthly wage of K35,000 (USD 46.82).

Nonetheless, newspapers are very influential in information dissemination; where these newspapers lead, the rest of the local media are likely to follow. Moreso, the newspapers have presence on all major social media platforms where they repost much of the print editions’ content including the front and back-pages of the print editions. A journalist with NPL’s The Nation newspapers said this is done as one way of promoting the print editions.

Misinformation During the Annulled May 2019 Elections

In the period leading up to and immediately after the May 2019 elections, Malawi witnessed an increase in the spread of misinformation.

The results of that election, which saw the incumbent President, Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) declared winner with 38.6%, followed by Malawi Congress Party’s (MCP) Lazarus Chakwera with 35.4% and Saulos Chilima of UTM in third position with 20.2% were annulled by the Constitutional Court after the losing candidates challenged the outcome citing several irregularities including ballot tampering.

During the court proceedings, civil society organisations (CSOs), particularly Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), joined by the opposition parties and ordinary Malawians took to the streets, demanding resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Justice Jane Ansah, for her part in the electoral fraud. Inspite of government attempts to stop the demonstrations, courts upheld citizens’ rights to assembly and association, with the military at hand to ensure demonstrations were peaceful.

Alongside the peaceful demonstrations, print, broadcast and social media also provided platforms for mobilisation and engagement. However, the same platforms also proved to be fruitful ground for counterattack and smear campaigns by Peter Mutharika’s sympathisers against the CSOs and opposition parties. Most notable were altered front page headlines in the two leading daily newspapers and their weekend sister papers. The headlines were altered to change the news agenda and narrative on social media.

For instance, The Nation newspaper’s September 26, 2019 edition (below) had a frontpage story titled: “DPP, PROTESTERS CLASH FOIL MARCH”, with subheadings: “HRDC calls for anti-Ansah demo” and “Activist Mayaya, 4 others injured.” Mutharika supporters altered the headline and disseminated the page online reading instead: “ANGRY MALAWIANS BEAT BILLY MAYAYA”, with subheadings: “We are tired of your demos” and “HRDC violence destroyed lives.” Billy Mayaya is a leading member of HRDC, organisers of the demonstrations.

A similar example is of The Sunday Times edition of October 13, 2019 (below), which featured a story of the then leader of HDRC, Timothy Mtambo surviving an attempt on his life by suspected state operatives. The headline “I SURVIVED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT BY [GOD’S] GRACE – MTAMBO” was altered and disseminated online as “I FAKED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FOR SYMPATHY – MTAMBO.”

It is clear in these cases that the misinformation was created to discredit the CSOs position on MEC and its chairperson, Jane Ansah. Considering the low newspaper circulation and the high reliance on bundled internet for social media access, it is very difficult for the unsuspecting public, without access to newspapers or the Internet outside of data plans, to identify the irregularities in the above newspaper illustrations.

What is to be done?

On June 23, 2020, Malawi held a Constitutional Court-ordered fresh presidential election which was won by Lazarus Chakwera. The new government has promised to undertake a series of public reforms, one of which is to operationalise the access to information law, which has been Gazetted and becomes operational on September 30, 2020. The President said operationalising the law is one way of “[ending] the era of government secrecy”. Likewise, the new Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako – a veteran broadcaster and experienced media manager, appears to be taking calls from CSOs for affordable access to the internet seriously. He has called on telecommunication companies and the sector regulator, Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority, to work on modalities to make the internet more affordable.

If actualised, this would go a long way in addressing the information gap in the country and sustaining democracy.

Meanwhile, NPL and The Times Group have made efforts to promote awareness about misinformation, as in the case of the illustrations below:

Combined efforts of operationalising the access to information law and improving internet affordability by the government, together with sensitisation campaigns by media houses would go a long way in rebuilding trust and legitimacy of both institutions. However, additional efforts in promoting availability of information in local languages would further support verification of information at citizen’s disposal towards enhancing the power of access to information.

Jimmy Kainja is a 2020 CIPESA Fellow focussing on the areas of hate speech and misinformation, data protection, and access to information

19May

CIPESA Joins Call Urging Burundi Gov't To #KeepItOn During Elections

admin May 19, 2020

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 leaders.

The state of internet freedom in Burundi has been precarious due to the continued tightened control over independent media and critical online publishers by the government. See the 2019 report on the State of Internet Freedom in Burundi

The coalition has submitted a joint letter to the government of Burundi to ensure open, secure and stable access to the internet and social media platforms throughout the country’s presidential elections. The signatories appealed to the authorities in Burundi to consider the following recommendations to guarantee citizens’ active participation in the elections:

Ensure that the internet, including social media and other digital communication platforms, remains accessible throughout the elections
Ensure that the Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications (ARCT) and the Conseil National de la Communication take all the necessary regulatory measures to ensure internet service providers (ISPs) inform people of any form of disruption or interference in the provision of internet access
Order the unblocking of all websites of independent media outlets that are currently inaccessible in the country

. Read the joint letter.

21Oct

Chad Lifted the 16-Months Social Media Shutdown But Concerns Remain

admin October 21, 2019

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 still autocratic, and President Idriss Déby – in office for 29 years now – is not in a hurry to relinquish power. The prospects of enjoying a greater range of digital rights are low, the likelihood of another internet disruption high.

Chad has one of the world’s lowest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) penetration rates, with internet penetration of 11.4% and mobile penetration of 46.9%. It is ranked 174^th out of 176 countries worldwide and 36^th out of 38 surveyed countries in Africa by ICT Development Index (IDI).

The low internet penetration did not deter the government from ordering a social media blackout when citizens staged widespread public protests against constitutional changes that could see President Déby rule until 2033. The blockage was only lifted 16 months later in the face of severe national and international pressure. While the blockage lasted, it hampered ICT uptake, denied citizens access to information, hurt their livelihoods, cost the national economy over USD 200 million, and constrained innovation.

Is Chad then ready to harness and to reap the dividends that a digital society delivers? The landlocked central African country has recently launched a 1,200 km fibre optic network linking the capital N’Djamena to the border with Sudan, a large step in broadband coverage extension since international fibre reached the country in 2012. The World Bank-supported Central African Backbone (CAB) project is also expanding ICT infrastructure. But affordability remains a huge problem, and the affronts to freedom of expression and the free flow of information online have slowed ICT uptake in the country of 16 million people. In this article, we provide a rundown of the country’s ICT sector.

ICT Legal and Regulatory Framework

The key regulations in Chad’s digital space are the law N° 014/PR/2014 on eCommunications, the law N° 009/PR/2015 on Cybersecurity and the fight against Cybercrime, the law N° 007/PR/2015 on the Protection of Personal Data, and the law N° 008/PR/2015 on eTransactions.

At the institutional level, the National Agency for Computer Security and eCertification (ANSICE), established by law N° 006/PR/2015 and under the tutelage of the Presidency, designs and implements policies to combat cybercrime, regulate and control national information systems’ security and eCommunication networks. It coordinates national cyber security actions to ensure the security of government systems and critical state infrastructure. The Regulatory Authority for eCommunications and Posts (ARCEP), which is supervised by the Ministry of Post and New Information and Communications Technologies, is the industry regulator. The ICT Development Agency (ADETIC) develops and monitors the implementation of the national ICT development strategy. However, while its establishing Law N° 12/PR/2014 provides for formation of a national ICT strategy, to-date, a strategy has not been put in place.

Access and Affordability

Article 90 of the eCommunications Act provides for good quality and affordable, universal ICT services across the country. At the July 2019 inauguration of the 1,200km national optical fibre network, President Déby stated that “operators and the State must make efforts to further support the lowering of the internet connection rates, while ensuring quality of services”. However, these aspirations remain a pipedream, as infrastructure is thinly spread and taxes make access unaffordable to many. According to the 2018 ARCEP Telecommunications Market Observatory report issued in May 2019, the average cost of one GB of data per month is currently 7,000 FCFA (USD 12), representing about 12% of the monthly minimum wage which is 60,000 FCFA (USD 101) in Chad. This means only a fraction of Chadians can afford to consistently purchase data and use the internet. In addition, speeds are low – 5KBps in 2018 as reported by ARCEP – making it hard for companies and start-ups to provide digital-based development solutions. According to Sidick Bachir Lougouma, the director general of ARCEP, with the new optical fibre network, “Chad will be able to provide national operators with a capacity of 100 gigabits of which 40 gigabits are already available.”

Meanwhile, high taxation rates also undermine affordability and uptake. Excise duty tax on mobile operators rose from 4% in 2014 to 7% in 2016. In 2017, the excise duty shot up to 18%, before falling to 9% in 2018 to-date, according to the 2019 Finance Law. In addition to the excise duty tax, Article 27 of the Finance Law states, “Subscription contracts for post-paid and fixed mobile phones are subject to a stamp duty equal to 10% of the amount of the invoices sent to the customer.”

The ACERP’s 2018 report estimates the number of mobile subscribers at seven million – equivalent to a mobile penetration rate of 46.9%. Airtel Chad, Tigo Chad, Salam, and Sotel Fixed-Tawali are the leading telecom operators, with the lion’s share of the market held by Tigo (51.1%) and Airtel (48.5%). The number of internet users was estimated at 1.74 million, representing a penetration rate of 11.4% in 2018, compared to 1.5% in 2009.

While the ongoing infrastructure investments might improve internet speeds and expand access, including to broadband, to larger parts of the country, the high and multiple taxes will keep telecommunications prices high and undermine growth in subscriber numbers.

Safety, Personal Data and Privacy

The Constitution of Chad provides for the protection of privacy in Article 49, stating: “The privacy of correspondence and communications is guaranteed by law.” Article 182 establishes the High Authority for Media and Broadcasting – an independent administrative body responsible for promoting freedom of the press, and access to information “within the framework of deference for national cultural values, public order and citizens’ privacy. “

The above constitutional provisions are reflected in the 2015 law on the Protection of Personal Data, which aims to regulate the collection, processing, transmission, storage and use of personal data. It defines personal data as “any information relating to a natural person identified or identifiable directly or indirectly, by reference to an identification number or to one or more elements, specific to his physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, cultural identity, social or economic” (Section 5).

The application of the law is ensured by the ANSICE, following a framework defined by the law N° 006/PR/2015. It guarantees respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, the state, local and regional authorities, civil society, and aims to ensure that the use of ICT does not infringe on individual or public liberties, especially on private life (Article 1, Paragraph 2). The law is considered a good step towards protecting personal data and promoting users’ digital rights.

Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Press

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are guaranteed by the Chadian Constitution as follows: “The freedoms of opinion and expression, communication, conscience, religion, press, association, meeting, movement, events are guaranteed to all. They can only be limited by respect for the freedoms and rights of others and the imperative to safeguard national unity, public order and morality“ (Article 28).

However, the country is ranked 122^nd out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2019. Arbitrary arrests and detention of journalists, closure of media outlets, a restrictive operating environment for human rights defenders, threats, intimidation and assault of reporters – have led to a culture of self-censorship online.

In addition, the government has ordered long-lasting disruptions to social networks, thus muzzling citizen participation in decision-making and the democratic process through the internet. Following the controversial re-election of President Déby in 2016, over 10 websites were blocked and the whole country experienced an internet shutdown for several weeks, followed by an eight-month disruption to social networks. At the time, authorities acknowledged that SMS services were restricted “as a security measure” but denied any interference with internet services, instead citing technical challenges.

There were reports of another government-ordered internet disruption on January 25, 2018, to thwart an anti-austerity protest. The planned “peaceful march” against “bad governance, injustices of all kinds and anti-social measures taken by the government” was organised by several civil society organisations in major cities across the country. The Minister of the Interior and Public Security banned the march, before the internet disruption occurred.

In the same way, following protests against constitutional changes, the Chadian government blocked access to social networks including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube for 16 months – from March 2018 to July 2019. While lifting the blockage, President Déby confirmed that his government had ordered the restriction of access to social networks to preserve national security. Without citing any law, he added: “For a country like Chad which has had dark hours, it is not acceptable for the internet to be diverted for malicious purposes by some individuals with fatal intentions for peace and national unity.”

Conclusion

The ICT sector in Chad remains under-developed and there is a lack of a clear roadmap to a vibrant digital society. The culture of ordering network disruptions, negligible efforts in bridging the digital divide and ensuring universal access, as well as multiple and high levels of taxation, censorship of online and traditional media by the government, remain bottlenecks to an accessible and affordable internet and undermine the contribution of ICT to Chad’s socio-economic development.

Revisions to restrictive laws and the passing of implementation regulation for existing laws is thus crucial. As in the adoption of a national strategy for ICT development.

16May

How Social Media Taxes Can Burden News Outlets: The Case of Uganda

admin May 16, 2019

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 social media and messaging apps, how might this new tax impact the news media ecosystem? The negative effects on news media are less direct and arguably more pernicious than might be expected.
See the full report published on the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) website as part of the Open Internet for Democracy Leaders Initiative.

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