Open Internet News

20th January 2022

NSO Ghana Op Exposed: Never Before Seen Pegasus Spyware Footage, Workers’ Passports

News Update |
TV report says NSO struck a shady deal with the Ghanaian government, which allegedly planned to use Pegasus to snoop on opposition figures ahead of a 2017 election.
The Ghanaian government purchased NSO’s Pegasus spyware in a shady deal that led to a probe by the West African country’s main intelligence agency, an Israeli investigative TV show revealed Wednesday. Although…

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13th January 2022

Nigerians React With Joy and Resolve to Lifting of Twitter Ban

News Update |
Authorities lift the months-long suspension on social media giant’s operations after it agrees to meet conditions.
Lagos, Nigeria – Solomon Elusoji, a Lagos-based journalist, felt a rush of relief early on Thursday after being able to access Twitter for the first time in seven months.

“It feels like freedom,” Elusoji told Al Jazeera. “As a journalist, I use Twitter a lot to…

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10th January 2022

Snapshots that Shaped the FoE Landscape in 2021

News Update |
In looking back at events during the year, Reyhana Masters focuses on a few notable snapshot moments that have been understated, yet have significantly shaped the freedom of expression and access to information landscape in both valuable and damaging ways. This is so we can contemplate, how we, as citizens and civil society organisations can contribute to a more…

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22nd December 2021

Zim Snooping on Citizens to Quash Dissenting Voices

News update |

AFRICAN governments, Zimbabwe included, are using sophisticated surveillance equipment to snoop on citizens and to quash dissenting voices.

This is contained in a report compiled by the International Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa CIPESA — an ICT research watchdog founded in 2004.

The report confirmed that Zimbabwe is using Israel spy technology which exploits loopholes in…

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4th December 2021

Mnangagwa Signs Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill into Law

News update |

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law the controversial Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, which passed through the Senate in July 2021 and was awaiting Presidential assent.

The new legislation to be called Data Protection Act (Chapter 11:12) was signed Friday, amid concerns from human rights groups that Mnangagwa’s jittery government was bent on stifling dissent on social media…

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3rd December 2021

South African Cybercrimes Act is Now Law!

News Update |

The President has proclaimed that, from 1 December 2021, certain sections of the Cybercrimes Act, 2020 will come into full force. The Cybercrimes Act aims to:

regulate and harmonise legislation in respect of offences committed using electronic mediums, and creates offences which have a bearing on cybercrime including criminalising the disclosure of data messages which are harmful and providing for interim protection…

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1st December 2021

Cell Phone Levy Detrimental to Universal Access To Information

News Update |

Statement regarding the recent announcement of a levy on mobile phones by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech.

MISA Zimbabwe supports the push by parliamentarians to scrap the US$50,00 levy on new cell phone handsets as this will impact negatively on internet access and citizens’ rights to information.

Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, proposed the…

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23rd November 2021

Blackouts, Social Media Bans, Digital Surveillance Continue to Rise Across Africa

News update |

Governments are getting increasingly sophisticated in squashing internet rights. But Gambia’s progress gives some hope.

Late in the night of November 30, 2016, citizens of the small West African nation, The Gambia, noticed their internet had gone down. Ordinarily, it might have been considered a technical fault somewhere in the system, but on the eve of a general election under…

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