Advancing Collaborations in Strategic Litigation for Digital Rights in East Africa

By Edrine Wanyama |

Strategic litigation has gained recognition as a tool for pushing back against restrictions on rights to privacy, access to information and freedom of expression, assembly and association in the digital sphere in Africa. Notable cases have been recorded in Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Gambia, Zimbabwe, and Sudan.

However, litigation for digital rights remains under-utilised across the continent…

The Africa Digital Rights Fund Awards USD 152,000 to Advance Digital Rights in 18 African Countries

By Ashnah Kalemera |

The second round of the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF) has awarded a total of USD 152,000 to 14 initiatives that will work to advance digital rights in 18 African countries. Among the focus areas of the initiatives are access to information, data protection and privacy, digital economy, Digital Identity (ID), digital security, diversity and inclusion, freedom of expression,…

Le Sénégal va Réviser la Loi sur la Protection des Données Personnelles

Par Thomas Robertson |

Douze années après il avait été un des premiers pays africains à promulguer la législation sur la protection des données personnelles, le Sénégal a proposé un projet de loi pour remplacer la Loi sur la Protection des Données à Caractère Personnel de 2008. Le projet de loi de 2019 portant Protection des Données à Caractère Personnel rejoint…

Senegal to Review Data Protection Law

By Thomas Robertson |

Twelve years after being among the first African countries to enact data protection legislation, Senegal has published a bill to replace the 2008 Personal Data Protection Law. The Personal Data Protection Bill of 2019 is part of the government’s goal of upgrading the legal and institutional framework of the technology and telecommunications sector by 2025 as part…

Joint CSO Letter to United Nations and African Commission Special Rapporteurs on the arrest and detention of Tanzanian Human Rights Defender Tito Elia Magoti

Letter |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has joined 27 other organisations in submitting a public letter to the United Nations and African Commission Special Rapporteurs in the case of  the arrest of Tanzanian  human rights defender Tito Magoti.

The joint letter request that the respective offices urgently intervene in the cases of human rights defenders and…

The Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns in 2019

News Update |

This Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns in 2019 report identifies the total economic impact of every major internet blackout and social media shutdown around the world last year.

We collated every national and region-wide incident, determined the duration of the restrictions and used the COST tool to calculate their economic impact.

This tool, developed by internet monitoring NGO Netblocks and advocacy group The Internet Society,…

En suspens : la liberté de la presse en ligne et hors ligne en Guinée

Par Simone Toussi |

Le paysage médiatique de la Guinée compte plus de 70 médias, y compris les médias en ligne, la radio, la télévision et la presse écrite. Pourtant, le pays ne se classe pas très bien sur les indices internationaux de la liberté de la presse – il est classé 107e sur 180 pays dans l’indice mondial de la liberté de la…

Hanging in the Balance: Online and Offline Freedom of the Press in Guinea

By Simone Toussi |

Guinea’s media landscape boasts over 70 media outlets including streaming media, radio, television and print media. Yet still, the country does not score highly on international press freedom indices – it is ranked 107 out of 180 countries in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Nonetheless, the country’s growing internet penetration from 0.4% in 2010 to 33% in 2018 is favourable for the…

Africa in the Crosshairs of New Disinformation and Surveillance Schemes That Undermine Democracy

By Daniel Mwesigwa |

A range of spyware vendors including Italian Hacking Team, the Anglo-German Gamma Group, and Israeli’s NSO Group, have found a ready market in authoritarian and repressive governments in Africa and elsewhere. Similarly, systematic propaganda campaigns designed by meddlesome actors – including government agents and ambitious data analytics companies such as Cambridge Analytica working on behalf of state…

Building Digital Literacy and Security Capacity of Women Refugees in Uganda

By Ashnah Kalemera |

Statistics on the prevalence of cyber harassment of women in Africa remain scanty. Where some reports of cyber harassment of women in the region are available, the extent to which it affects women in marginalised communities is also not well known. Indeed, the growing proliferation of technology is reported to be facilitating online harassment of women by enabling the anonymity of the perpetrators…