By Jamie Mckane |
South Africa is preparing for the full implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which will take effect from 1 July 2021.
In a statement on Wednesday 24 March, the government noted that the 100-day countdown to this date was underway and there were numerous processes that were being implemented to ensure all public and private bodies…
By Mugambi Kiai, Gakii Winfred and Sigi W |
Authorities are deploying tyrannical practices to stifle public commentary on social and political issues, with wanton impunity. This is a frontal and brutal assault on the Constitution and an egregious violation of the social contract between the state and citizens.
“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of…
By Barron’s Writer |
Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Friday said he had signed into law a bill criminalising cyber abuse which critics alleged could be misused to stifle dissent ahead of upcoming elections.
Lungu signed the bill on Tuesday, his office said, adding that the president hoped it would “bring sanity in the way the internet is used in Zambia”.
“This is purely…
By James Clayton |
Anyone with a smartphone that uses facial recognition will know it does not really work with a mask on.
That can be frustrating – but although masks have undoubtedly thwarted the facial-recognition industry, the technology has also adapted.
It may sound strange but wearing a mask does not necessarily stop a computer from identifying someone.
And there are even…
By Duncan McLeod |
Facebook has been interdicted and restrained by the Competition Tribunal from removing GovChat, a communications service used by the South African government, from its WhatsApp instant messaging platform.
The tribunal said on Thursday that Facebook, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa may not remove GovChat on an interim basis pending further investigation. Facebook owns the WhatsApp messaging platform, which is dominant…
By Edrine Wanyama |
Namibia and Sierra Leone are among the countries that will undergo their Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the upcoming 38th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council slated to take place in May 2021. The two countries have distinct human rights and governance track records, accompanied by increasing digitalisation, making it important that the UPR recommendations…
By Victor Kapiyo |
In recent years, disruptions to the internet and social media applications have emerged as a common and growing trend of digital repression especially in authoritarian countries in Africa. Since 2019, countries such as Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and…
By Nana Ama Sarfo |
An unresolved issue in the OECD’s base erosion and profit-shifting 2.0 reform project is when and how countries will remove their unilateral digital tax measures once a solution is brokered. The OECD has made it clear that inclusive framework members are expected to revoke unilateral measures and refrain from introducing new ones when that time comes.
Yet after rounds of discussions,…