Uganda Archives – Page 11 of 14 – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

18Feb

Ugandans Turn to Proxies, VPN in Face of Social Media Shutdown

admin February 18, 2016

| By CIPESA Writer
On the morning of the highly anticipated general elections in Uganda, citizens woke up to no access to social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. The popular mobile phone-based financial transaction service commonly known as Mobile Money was also offline.
Tech-savvy Ugandans keen to keep information on the electioneering process flowing turned to sharing information on proxies and apps that enable circumventing the blockage through Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
Within hours, as more and more citizens got back online, there was a spike in social media activity. By 1pm local time, the hashtag #UgandaDecides recorded 35,000 tweets. Three hours later at 4pm, the number of tweets with this hashtag had jumped to 56,000. By 5pm, the hashtag boasted over 64,000 tweets. As at 7pm, the figure stood at over double that of 1pm and was still growing.
Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is standing in the current elections and faces perhaps the strongest electoral challenge ever to his three-decade rule. Ugandan citizens’ level of online civic engagement was sparked by the first ever televised presidential debates, the first of which was held in January and the second just last week. During both debates, #UgandaDecides alongside #UGDebate16 trended, raising some level of trust in the electioneering process.
But this trust seems to have been turned on its head today. Internet services in various areas of the country have been intermittent, leaving many unable to access information. Leading telecommunications service provider MTN issued a statement confirming that Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the regulator, had “directed MTN to disable all social media and mobile money services due to a threat to public order and safety.” There has been no communication from any of the other service providers including Vodafone, which has championed disclosure of government requests for user information and surveillance support through its annual Transparency reports.
An official at the communications regulator confirmed to the local Daily Monitor newspaper that they directed ISPs to block access to social media sites over “national security” concerns related to the “sensitive” elections period.
As the day progressed, growing numbers of citizens were able to share updates on late arrivals of voting materials at various stations, reports of election malpractice, and provisional election results.
Previous election periods in Uganda have seen a crackdown on social media, voices critical of the ruling party, and independent media in the guise of promoting public order and unity as well as preventing the spread of false information. The 2011 elections were marked with filtering of short message services (SMS) which contained certain words.
Today’s blockage is for an indeterminate period.
See also State of Internet Freedom in Uganda reports 2014 and 2015.

24Sep

Access to Information in Uganda to be Recognised at Internet Freedom Forum

admin September 24, 2015

As part of its OpenNet Africa initiative which is aimed at promoting internet rights in Africa, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is next week set to host the second Forum on Internet Freedom in East Africa. The two-day event is scheduled for 28 and 29 September 2015, in Kampala, Uganda and will coincide with the International Right to Know Day.

Uganda was the first of two countries in East Africa to adopt an Access to Information Act (ATIA) in 2005 (the other is Rwanda in 2013) which promotes the right of access to information and supports public participation in decision-making processes. As part of the forum the Ministry of Information and National Guidance in the Office of the Prime Minister (Uganda) in partnership with CIPESA and the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) will celebrate the 10^th anniversary of ATIA, host discussions to evaluate the implementation of the law, how to overcome challenges on implementation and proposals for amendments. The second State of Right to Information (RTI) in Africa report will also be presented.

In Africa, Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the private sector, academia and ordinary citizens are increasingly utilizing online tools for social and economic engagement, online debate, advocacy and business development. The Forum will serve as a platform to discuss how the current state of internet freedoms in Africa affects these engagements. Further, it will also explore the threats online engagements face, how emerging global issues impact upon local users, as well as the opportunities for action to promote access, privacy and security online.

The 2015 edition of the State of Internet Freedom in East Africa Report will be launched at the Forum.

Ashnah Kalemera, Programmes Associate at CIPESA, says that, “This report is the culmination of exploratory research conducted in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda into the threats to access, privacy and security online, as well as the knowledge, attitudes and practices of citizens on internet freedoms in these countries. The insights gathered can help guide policy makers, civil society, telecommunication regulatory authorities in understanding the internet freedom landscape in the region including the challenges, opportunities and developments.”

According to the International Telecommunication Union, by the end of 2015, there will be 3.2 billion users of the internet, of which 2 billion will come from developing countries. This translates to 34% of households in developing countries accessing the Internet, compared with more than 80% in developed countries. In the report focus countries, internet penetration in Burundi stands at 4.9% (2013 statistics), while according to 2014 statistics, Kenya had a penetration of 52%, while Rwanda was 20%, Tanzania at 4.8% and in Uganda at 20%.

The Forum brings together human rights defenders, journalists, government officials, academia, bloggers, developers, the arts community, law enforcement agencies and communication regulators, all of whom have a role to play in advancing the rights of citizens to privacy and freedom of expression in the online sphere.

Participants confirmed to attend hail from Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Speakers at the panel will come from organizations including Article 19, Bayimba (Uganda), Bloggers Association Kenya, Chapter 4, ICT Association Uganda (ICTAU), Globaleaks, Global Voices (Uganda), Great Lakes Voices (Rwanda), Hub for Investigative Media (HIM), iHub Research (Kenya), Internet Society [(Africa, Burundi and Uganda Chapters], Jamii Forums (Tanzania), UNESCO, Facebook, Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), Makerere University (Uganda), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, Protège QV, Uganda Media Centre, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Uganda Police Cybercrime Unit, University of Nairobi, Web We Want, Writivism (Uganda) and the Women Of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) among others.

Topics to be discussed include electioneering and extremism in the digital age, press freedom, access to information online, the economics of the internet, digital safety, online violence against women and cybercrime. See the Programme.

We are thankful for the support received from the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), Ford Foundation, Hivos, Open Technology Fund, UNESCO and Web We Want.

15Sep

Analysis of ICT in Governance Policies and Practice in Uganda

admin September 15, 2015

In our research series this month, we review government and non-government ICT initiatives in Uganda. We examine how ICT-related policies and other legislation affect citizen participation, democratic governance and influence the link between ICT and public services delivery.
The report is based on policy analysis, stakeholder interviews and literature review, and aims to inform awareness raising initiatives and advocacy for more progressive policies and practices regarding the use of ICT in governance and civic participation in Uganda.
Read the full report

07Jul

Hunting Down Social Media ‘Abusers’ in Uganda as Elections Near

admin July 7, 2015

By CIPESA Staff |
As Uganda draws closer to the February 2016 presidential elections, the fever of anxiety in government corridors is rising. Over the years, election periods have seen a crackdown on social media, voices critical of the ruling party, and independent media in the guise of promoting public order and unity as well as preventing the spread of false information. This, however, has sparked debate on the fine line between preserving national cohesion and hampering free speech.
See our full analysis of Hunting Down Social Media ‘Abusers’ in Uganda as Elections Near in our Policy Briefing Series

15Jun

OpenNet Africa Challenge Uncovers Gaps in Digital Safety Tools

admin June 15, 2015

By Ashnah Kalemera |
There are numerous tools which can secure online users’ communications, including through anonymising their identities and enabling them to circumvent online surveillance and censorship. In some cases, developers have gone on to localise such tools to suit various contexts. However, the tools’ relevance to certain populations and how best to improve them for a diverse range of users remains largely unknown.
During May 2015, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with tech innovation hub OutBox challenged members of the Ugandan tech community to test five digital safety and security tools in order to gain an understanding, in a local context, of the tools’ strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for localisation. The challenge was in the context of CIPESA’s OpenNet Africa initiative which monitors and promotes internet freedom in east and southern Africa.
The tested tools were Cyrptocat, Mailvelope, Martus, TextSecure and Redphone. The scope of testing included how the tools enabled anonymisation, circumvention, and privacy of communications. The tests had to take into consideration different user communities, including women, bloggers, journalists, human rights defenders, and sexual minorities, and the nature of threats to internet freedom in the East African region.

A team presents to the panel during the OpenNet Africa Tools Testing Challnge

These threats are often linked to the fight against terrorism, combating online hate speech, suppressing the views of opposition parties (mainly around election periods), and in crackdowns against particular groups, such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community, critical media and human rights activists. The threats often come in the form of surveillance, blocking of websites and social media sites, and interception of communications.
Three teams participated in the challenge through trial exercises, user consultations and stakeholder interviews. In considering which tools were better suited to promote internet freedoms of the region’s citizens, the teams that conducted the tests also bore in mind the proliferation of technology, internet speeds and literacy levels in the region. Language, multiple device use and aesthetics such as the interface design including colours and icons, were also among the other features for testing.
The teams found a number of shortcomings on some tools, including the lack of protection from key loggers, poor or no consideration for low internet speed users and those with low ICT skills and literacy levels. Some tools were found to have limited cross platform/device operability, while others were not accessible to visually impaired persons.
Select test findings

Tool	Safety and Security Features	Key test finding limitation
Martus	Allows for secure collection, transmission and storage of data. It is popularly used by human rights defenders.	There is no option for retrieving a lost encryption key
Cryptocat	This app enables encrypted chat via a browser and mobile phone.	Lack of IP address anonymisation There are no administrative privileges in group chats meaning there is free entry and exit of members in the conversations.
Mailvelope	This is a browser extension that enables the exchange of encrypted emails	Lack of an attachment encryption function
Redphone	An Android based mobile app that allows for encrypted voice calls over a Wi-Fi or data connection using a normal phone number.	Unregistering a RedPhone number is not currently supported. Very slow or no synchronisation with contacts that have RedPhone installed, meaning there is no possibility to upgrade calls to encrypted calls even when the user being called is running the RedPhone app.
TextSecure	Secure messaging app	Recently dropped SMS support Installation requires Google services

“Pious, a 25-year old IT student at Makerere said that he is now using Redphone with his girlfriend whenever they feel like phone sex in order to avoid the spying software announced by Fr. Simon Lukodo, Minister of Ethics and Integrity,” Tean Tech4Dev

The teams made recommendations for improvement and localisation, including translation of the tools into local languages, compatibility provisions across social media platforms, and feature phone support.
The teams also proposed numerous cases in which the tools can be used by marginalised and vulnerable user groups in East Africa. They cited youth mobilisation, gender-based violence and other human rights violations reporting, monitoring and victims support, facilitation of opposition groups’ activities, and protection from corporate espionage.
However, the teams also highlighted the potential of the tools promoting hate speech and radicalism in East Africa’s fragile socio-political environment through safeguarding the communications and activities of offenders.
“One of the primary uses of the Internet by terrorists is for the dissemination of propaganda. Through encrypted communications, terrorists can easily spread their propaganda and also plan their activities,” noted Team African Value. The team added that promotion of divisiveness and encouraging violent acts on ethnic grounds has become common on East African online platforms.
The teams also noted the need for increased awareness raising and capacity building among users to promote an understanding of cyber threats and online safety. Among the possible ways to achieve this was through working with academia to develop cyber security curriculums for education institutions.
The findings of the teams were showcased at a pitching event held on June 2, 2015 where a panel of judges determined the team with the best reports and localisation recommendations. The judges were Wilson Abigaba (Internet Society – Uganda Chapter), Richard Lusimbo (Sexual Minorities Uganda), Baldwin Okello (Uganda Telecom) and Neil Blazevic and Mark Kiggundu – both from East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.
The winning team was Tech4Dev, which was followed by Ghost In The Wires then African Values. See more on the event on Storify

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