Internet Freedom

Gear Up! The 2023 Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) is Heading to Tanzania!

Announcement |

The annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) hosted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) will be hosted in Dar es Salam, Tanzania on September 27-29, 2023. This year will mark a decade of the largest gathering on internet freedom in Africa, which has since 2014 put internet freedom on the…

CIPESA at the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF23)

By CIPESA Writer |

The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF) is an annual convening hosted by Nigeria based Paradigm Initiative. Themed “Building a sustainable Internet for all”, this year, the event is being hosted in Nairobi, Kenya on 12-14 April. DRIF is a platform where conversations on digital policy in Africa are shaped, policy directions debated and partnerships forged for…

African Countries Engage in Regional Dialogue Over Internet Universality Indicators Study

By UNESCO’s Writer |

On 16 March 2022, UNESCO, jointly with the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) convened a regional dialogue on implementing Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators (IUI) in Africa.

The event, supported by the  International Program for Development of Communication (IPDC) of UNESCO,  gathered a number of leading  national actors and experts who shared best…

Mauritius’ Social Media Regulation Proposal Centres State-Led Censorship

By Daniel Mwesigwa |

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritius leads in many aspects. It is the only country on the continent categorised as a “full democracy” by the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index for 2020. Additionally, it has the second highest per capita income (USD 11,099) and one of the highest internet penetration rates in the region (72.2%).

However, the recently published consultation…

Zambia One of The 25 Countries Using Mobile Spyware to Spy on Citizen’s Calls, Texts and Location

News Update in Zambia |

A private surveillance firm that exploits mobile network vulnerabilities to spy on calls, texts and location data is doing business with at least 25 governments around the globe, including Zambia’s a report released this week has concluded.

The findings from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab scrutinize the work of the company Circles, which is a sister firm…

MRA Condemns Blocking of Three Websites Associated With #EndSARS Protests

Nigeria News update |

Lagos, Tuesday, December 1, 2020: Media Rights Agenda (MRA) today condemned the apparent surreptitious blocking of three websites associated with the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, describing the action as a brazen and unjustifiable violation of the right to freedom of expression of the operators of the websites and other Nigerians who get information from the platforms.

The websites, www.feministcoalition2020.com, www.endsars.com, and www.radioisiaq.com,…

CIPESA Executive Director Detained At Tanzania Airport – UPDATE

Statement |

Dr. Wairagala Wakabi, the Executive Director, of the Uganda-based Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has been detained, upon arrival, at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salam, Tanzania earlier today. Immigration authorities have declined to state the basis of his arrest.

Dr. Wakabi had been invited to Tanzania to participate in the annual…

Stakeholder Submission to the UN Human Rights Council on Digital Rights in The Gambia

By Ashnah Kalemera |

In November 2019, The Gambia will be coming up for its third cycle review under the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism. Former President Yahya Jammeh, before his ouster in 2017, was renowned for his utter disregard for constitutional rights, once stating publicly that he would “not compromise or sacrifice the peace, security, stability, dignity, and the well-being of…

NetBlocks and the Internet Society Launch Tool to Calculate the Cost of Internet Censorship Worldwide

News Update |

10 DECEMBER 2018 — A new tool to support internet freedom is being launched by NetBlocks and The Internet Society, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to the open development, use and evolution of the Internet.

Launch COSTRun the Cost of Shutdown Tool

The organisations have partnered up to build COST, a tool that seeks to measure the economic…

“What Next for Advocacy Against Network Disruptions?”

By David Sullivan |
Few events bring together the multitude of actors with a stake in tough technology and human rights challenges quite like the Internet Governance Forum, or IGF. The 2018 edition, held in Paris and hosted by UNESCO, was no exception, with nearly 2,000 delegates from 143 countries. It was a particularly suitable setting for the Global Network Initiative, or…