Media Watchdog Calls on Tanzania to Scrap Online Content Law
Tanzania News Update |
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday called on Tanzania to scrap a new law regulating Internet content, saying it targeted critics who had sought a “safe haven” online. The new law requires the operators of online platforms to divulge the names of their sources and contributors if the authorities require it.
News websites and blogs that are in breach of the law could be banned from posting new content and face prosecution. Refusing to comply with this requirement by a deadline of Friday, Jamii Forums, the country’s biggest online news site, which has more than 526 000 followers on Twitter, has suspended publishing, RSF said.
The law also requires online platforms to pay for a licence and other fees that amount to around $900 a year – failure to comply may result in closure, a fine of up to $2 200 and a 12-month jail term.
Read more about it here.
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