By Tusi Fokane |
Over the last 15 years, South Africa has been caught in the midst of an energy crisis with 2023 marking the most challenging period. The country experienced record-breaking power cuts, resulting in 300 days of load shedding at an economic cost of ZAR 1 billion per day (USD 55 million). The power cuts which in some instances…
By Evelyn Lirri |
In June 2020, a coalition of civil society groups launched an interactive portal to track and analyse disinformation laws, policies and patterns of enforcement across Africa. The portal was developed against a backdrop of rapidly accelerating state action on COVID-19 disinformation.
Two years on, as online disinformation is increasingly becoming prevalent, spurred by the growth in access to the internet…
Call for Applications |
In the lead up to the International Disability Day, on December 3, 2021, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is inviting journalists from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to apply for a two-day media training on Disability and Digital Rights in Africa. The virtual training will take place over two full days…
Nigeria News update |
The four major Telco players in Nigeria have lost a total of 11.8 million customers since the implementation of NIN-SIM card ban by the federal government in December 2020. This is according to information obtained from the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Specifically, the total subscriber base of the four major telco firms in Nigeria, reduced from 207.58 million at the…
News Update |
COVID-19 has shown the internet is not a luxury but a lifeline, and underscored why affordable, meaningful internet access must be a basic human right
2020 has been the year of digital salvation and of digital deprivation. Just as the world has turned to the internet to work from home, keep businesses alive, go to school online and stay connected…
By Ayang Macdonald |
A project to set up a unique digital library that will connect Cameroon’s eight state-owned universities is in the pipeline. This was at the center of discussions when heads of the concerned universities as well as authorities of the country’s Higher Education Ministry met for two days in the capital, Yaounde, last week.
During the meeting, stakeholders brainstormed on various operational modalities…
By the United Nations Human Rights |
GENEVA (25 June 2020) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday called on States and businesses to ensure that new technologies, including facial recognition and so-called ‘less-lethal weapons,’ are developed and used in ways that do not disrupt and prevent people’s ability to exercise their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly and…
By CIPESA Writer |
Following a seven-year, windy journey, on November 8, 2019, Kenya got a data protection law. The Data Protection Act, 2019 has various positive elements and can go a long way in addressing the live issues in protecting the privacy of data in Kenya.
The law came at a time of widespread concern about privacy in the country, including…
By Bekezela Phakathi |
Business, mobile operators and the DA welcome the news, citing the bill’s impingement on privacy and deleterious effect on the economy.
The government has shelved a controversial proposed law aimed at regulating infrastructure sharing in the telecommunications sector.
One of the contentious proposals in the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill was the establishment of a wireless open-access network (WOAN), which…
By Juliet Nanfuka |
The tax which the Uganda government introduced on use of social media last July has slashed the number of internet users in the country by five million in three months, according to figures from the industry regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). The numbers also show that revenue from the tax is far from the windfall which government had predicted…