Tanzania has Blocked Social Media, Bulk SMS as its Election Polls Open

Tanzania Election Update |
Tanzania has been blocking social media applications ahead of Wednesday’s (Oct. 28) election, days after the state issued a directive restricting text messaging within the country. This builds on earlier legislation outlawing international press from covering developments in the country without local media partnerships.
The presidential and parliamentary election in Tanzania tomorrow is likely to be tense, given the…

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…

Tanzania Court Deals a Blow to Intermediary Liability Rules

By Ashnah Kalemera |

A court in Tanzania has dealt a blow to the rules governing the country’s internet intermediaries, after ruling that requests for disclosure of user information for law enforcement purposes pursuant to the Cybercrimes Act (2015) are not arbitrary. In a March 8, 2017 ruling, three judges of the court in Dar es Salaam also ruled that 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…

PRESS RELEASE: Tanzania Should Immediately Release Digital Rights Activist Maxence Melo

By CIPESA Writer |

The police in Tanzania has detained Maxence Melo, a freedom of expression activist and co-founder of the popular online discussion platform, Jamii Forums. Although no charges have been brought against Melo, who was arrested at 1pm on Tuesday, December 13, his lawyer says the detention is an intimidation tactic on the backdrop of an ongoing case before…

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,…

Digital Security Clinics @ #FIFAfrica16

Internet freedom is threatened by surveillance, censorship, and hacking and by an underground economy of online fraudsters and phishers. To make it in the digital era, you need digital survival skills. Stop by the DefendDefenders Digital Security Clinic table during the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2016 and bring your questions and concerns to our digital security practitioners.
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Strengthening Africa’s Conversation and Actions on Internet Freedom

By Juliet Nanfuka |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) with the support of Facebook, the Ford Foundation, Google, Hivos, Open Technology Fund (OTF) and Small Media will assemble an audience in Kampala, Uganda for the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2016. Set to take place on September 27–29, the Forum has become a…

Man to Pay Sh7m Fine for Magufuli Facebook Insult

By Bertha Ismail| @TheCitizenTz,

Arusha — A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in jail or pay a fine of Sh7 million after he was found guilty of insulting President John Magufuli on his Facebook page.
The Arusha Resident Magistrate’s Court convicted Issac Abakuki on Wednesday after he admitted committing the offence.
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Is Tanzania Becoming an Internet Freedom Predator?

By Juliet Nanfuka |

Tanzania appears to be steadily sliding into a predator of critical social media users, as state authorities continue to arrest and prosecute users for expressing what many see as legitimate opinions. In recent months, the country’s newly elected government has used  a controversial new law  to prosecute at least seven social media users, in spite of  constitutional…