Compelled Service Provider Assistance for State Surveillance in Africa: Challenges and Policy Options

By CIPESA Writer |

In many Sub-Saharan countries, state surveillance, which generally refers to state measures to monitor and supervise activities of the population, has become more pervasive and reliant on various digital technologies. The increasing communication surveillance, which entails the monitoring, interception, collection and retention of information through communication networks, undermines digital technology users’ rights, including to privacy, and…

How State Surveillance is Stifling Democratic Participation in Africa: State of Internet Freedom in Africa Study Findings

FIFAfrica21 |
As African countries embrace digital technologies, there is growing concern that the rising state surveillance, which is partly being enabled by the same digital technologies, is undermining African citizens’ digital rights and hindering their willingness to meaningfully participate in democratic processes.
One of the “democratising effects” of the internet was that it had provided a safe and alternative engagement platform…

FIFAfrica21: Tackling Cybersecurity on the African continent

FIFAfrica21 |

EU Cyber Direct will on September 29, 2021 convene a session on Africa and the Future of International Cybercrime Cooperation as part of the eighth edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica).

According to the Africa Center, African governments face a fast-evolving array of digital threats including espionage, critical infrastructure sabotage and organised crime. The attacks come from a broad range of…

Overview of Intermediary Liability in Senegal

By Astou Diouf |

Among its west African counterparts, Senegal is among the leaders in digitalisation efforts. Its press freedom rankings are high and the country has also recorded positive strides in data protection. Telecommunications sector players include 2018 entrants ARC Telecom, WAW Telecom and Africa Access, alongside the state-owned Sonatel, Free (initially licensed as SENTEL, later rebranded as Tigo), and…

Are Cryptocurrencies the Future of Freedom and Financial Inclusion in Africa?

By Daniel Mwesigwa and Thomas Robertson |

Advances in innovation have ushered in new approaches to digital transformation and financial service provision. With the growth in internet connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa, emerging technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies have the potential to advance financial inclusion.

Blockchain is the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, among others. The emergence of…

News editor in Botswana Faces Jail Time Over Facebook Posts, Alleges Suffocation by Police

News update |

Police in Botswana detained Oratile Dikologang, co-founder and digital editor of the local, privately owned website Botswana People’s Daily News, on April 9, 2020, and charged him over Facebook posts about COVID-19 and local politics that he denies publishing, according to CPJ’s review of a copy of a charge sheet, Dikologang, and local media reports. He told CPJ by phone in…

Hands off Cyber Security, ICASA told

By Admire Moyo |

South African telcos, Internet service providers, industry bodies and analysts are largely of the view that the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (ICASA’s) forays into cyber security will bear hard upon the already overburdened telecommunications regulator.

Today and tomorrow, ICASA is holding public hearings in respect of the discussion document which was published to solicit written submissions regarding the authority’s role and responsibilities in the…

Subscriber Shocked To Find 13 Safaricom Sim Cards Registered Using Her ID

By Francis Muli |

Safaricom subscriber was in for a rude shock after she discovered that her Identification card (ID) had been used to register 13 simcards, all on the Safaricom network.

According to Lorna Gikabu, the affected subscriber, the lines were registered without her knowledge and consent, and most of them in use to persons unknown to her.

“How do you allow…

Is the future of the internet in Africa fractured?

By Daniel Mwesigwa |

At its founding, in the late 80s, the internet promised to democratize information, level uneven grounds, and the destroy barriers associated with distance, space, and time. Through promoting communication, coordination, integration at a pace and scale beyond the ability of any government to halt, the connectivity set a foundation for dichotomies so often aligned with colonialism, imperialism,…

Two Nigerian Journalists Charged With Cybercrime

News Update|

February 27, 2018–the Committee to Protect Journalists said, Nigerian authorities should immediately drop plans to charge Timothy and Daniel Elombah, editor and chief executive respectively, of the independent Elombah news website.

A federal court in Abuja is scheduled to arraign the brothers on cybercrime and terrorism-related offenses on March 1, their lawyer Obunike Ohaegbu told CPJ.

“Timothy and Daniel Elombah are journalists and…