Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

Niger’s recently passed interception of communications law is meant to contain security threats, but instead the surveillance implications pose a threat to free speech and online privacy.

Edrine Wanyama takes a look at how in the run-up to elections, Tanzania has passed new regulations introducing exorbitant application fees and stringent online registration requirements for content producers.

CIPESA reviews Ethiopia’s recurring internet shutdowns against the landmark ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling, declaring Togo’s 2017 internet shutdown illegal.

A coalition of civil society organisations has launched an interactive map to analyse and track how disinformation laws and policies are being enforced across sub-Saharan Africa.

The African Internet Rights Alliance (AIRA) has urged two Special Rapporteurs to publicly call on Kenya and Nigeria to ensure that their cybercrimes laws do not restrict fundamental rights and freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government’s dissemination of critical information on COVID-19 via social media is inaccessible to the majority of Ugandan citizens unable to afford the country’s social media tax imposed in 2018.

CIPESA has made a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Assembly outlining concerns over forceful measures used to impose COVID-19 restrictions by African governments.

There is growing concern that information awareness campaign messages about COVID-19 are on platforms and formats that persons with disabilities have limited access to.