By Richard Ngamita |
In August 2018, a video of what appeared to be Ethiopian policemen assaulting a man by the roadside was shared on Twitter. There seems to have been a rapid response from the Addis Ababa Police Department (@Addispolice), leading to the arrest of the culprits due to the virality of the video.
The incident, is one of many which highlights…
By FIFAfrica19 |
For the last 20 years, African countries have been broadening and enhancing control measures that govern the use of digital communications including the internet.
According to a new report by the Collaboration for International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), these controls when viewed collectively, continue to undermine democracy and cement authoritarians hold on political power.
With only…
FIFAfrica19 News |
Season of Changes
We are now just days away from this year’s edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (#FIFAfrica19) which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In the lead up to FIFAfrica19, we have witnessed some interesting developments in Africa’s digital landscape.
Among them is the Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA) convening at the African…
FIFAfrica19 |
The digital economy, including cross-border services, digital trade, and electronic commerce (eCommerce), contributes to democratic and economic development by expanding market access for local businesses, promoting inclusive trade, creating jobs, and expanding tax revenue for governments to provide essential services. As the scope of digital innovation expands around the continent, so must national and regional priorities and policies align…
FIFAfrica19 |
Over the last six months, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) has been convening diverse stakeholders from sub-Saharan Africa to discuss pressing freedom of expression and privacy issues in the region. Research and consultations conducted by the GNI to-date indicate that government-enabled surveillance and network disruptions are of particular concern across multiple stakeholder groups, as well as other issues like…
FIFAfrica19 |
Feminism movements online face audience aggression and are often misunderstood. Nonetheless, in recent years, the voice and presence of African feminists online is growing and reinforcing decades long offline efforts aimed at shifting norms, perceptions and power tilted against women and vulnerable communities. As such, growing feminist movements are contributing to narratives which previously did not feature much in…
Announcement |
The annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) will this year be hosted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) alongside the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The partnership is part of the Ministry’s digital transformation efforts, and aims to engage stakeholders on strategies for harnessing the…
Tomiwa Ilori |
Digitalisation has become integral in almost every facet of society, business, education, politics and health. Day-to-day interactions including commercial interactions are increasingly shaped by various forms of technologies and are often accompanied by the release of some form of personal data. However, due to the dynamic nature of the technologies that power e-commerce, laws in many jurisdictions are…
Announcement |
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is pleased to announce the winners of the first round of the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF). A total of USD 65,000 has been awarded to 10 initiatives that will advance digital rights in 16 African countries – Algeria, Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra…
By Monrovia Time |
The Liberian government has shut down the use of social media in the country. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and messaging app WhatsApp have been blocked by internet providers in Liberia as of Friday 7 June 2019, according to real-time network measurement data from the NetBlocks internet observatory.
NetBlocks is a civil society group working at the intersection of…