Growing the Conversation on Online Rights and Internet Measurement in Africa

By Juliet Nanfuka |

Rising awareness of the role the internet can play in promoting democratic governance, economic prosperity, civic participation and social inclusion is increasingly driving discussions around Africa. A growing number of stakeholders is getting involved in discussions to address gaps in the realisation of the potential of the internet in progressing socio- economic development and justice.

Platforms such as…

Silencing the Few Voices Left: Egypt Blocks 21 News Websites

By Access Now and SKeyes|
See the statement in Arabic

On Wednesday, May 24, 2017, Egypt banned at least 21 websites, including the main website of Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, The Huffington Post, and prominent local independent news site Mada Masr.

Mada Masr, as well as 20 other websites, were blocked by the Egyptian authorities for “supporting terrorism and extremism and spreading lies,”…

South Africa to host Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa

Save The Date Announcement |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) are happy to announce the date and location for the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) 2017.

This year’s edition of the Forum will held be in Johannesburg, South Africa, on September 27-29, 2017,  thus expanding the…

Recent Developments in Telecoms Regulation Threaten Online Rights in Uganda

By Edrine Wanyama |

In April 2017, the parliament of Uganda gave the minister in charge of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) powers to single-handedly make regulations that govern the telecommunications sector. Hitherto, regulations proposed by the minister had to receive parliamentary approval.

The Uganda Communications (Amendment) Bill (2016), which parliament passed on April 6, 2017, means that making regulations for the…

18 NGOs File an Intervention Before France’s Highest Court on Dangers of The ‘Right to Be Forgotten’

Press Release | Today, 18 expert non-governmental organisations from across the world have filed legal submissions before France’s highest court, the Council of State (Conseil d’État), raising serious concerns about a ruling of France’s data protection authority, la Commission nationale informatique et libertés (“CNIL”), on the “right to be forgotten”.

In 2014, CNIL ordered Google to remove 21 links from the…

Safeguarding Civil Society: Assessing Internet Freedom and the Digital Resilience of Civil Society in East Africa

By Small Media |

Over the past decade, East Africa has seen a tremendous boom in connectivity and online participation that is beginning to transform the way that citizens across the region communicate, express themselves, and establish communities. In a similar manner, the growth of internet access in the region is beginning to empower civil society organisations (CSOs) to engage with…

The Right To information in Uganda: Unclogging The Bottlenecks

By Loyce Kyogabirwe |

The right to information (RTI) is essential for the functioning of any democracy and is a prerequisite for transparency, accountability, gender equality and citizens’ participation in governance processes. However, Uganda faces numerous challenges to realising the right to access information despite having an access to information law. In the course of 2016, the Collaboration on International ICT…

Supercharging Human Rights Defenders // East Africa

By Small Media |

Building off the success of our 2016 report ‘Supercharging Human Rights Advocates in the Levant’, the Small Media team is excited to announce our latest project in a whole new region. Making use of the practices we’ve developed in our work across the Middle East, Small Media is setting out to survey the cybersecurity landscape in East…

The Internet Shutdown In Ethiopia Costs The Country Approximately $500,000 A Day In Lost GDP

By Tefo Mohapi|

In October 2016, Ethiopia declared a state of emergency which saw it impose certain measures that included telecommunications, media and Internet shutdowns along with travel restrictions on diplomats and a dusk-to-dawn curfew, to name a few of the measures implemented. The state of emergency, effective from 08 October 2016, comes as a result of about five hundred people…

African govts ‘Unlawfully’ Blocking Cyber Space

By Jean-Pierre Afadhali|
IN SUMMARY

Shutting down the Internet, blocking websites and expunging online content are among the tactics governments in Africa are using to stifle citizens’ voices, even as online platforms increasingly become the go-to places to denounce bad governance.
Shutting down the Internet, blocking websites and expunging online content are among the tactics governments in Africa are using to stifle citizens’ voices,…