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

International spyware vendors have set their sights on getting authoritarian and repressive African governments to take up mass surveillance as well as disinformation campaigns specifically targeted at manipulating and undermining political national discourses.

Seven years in the making, Kenya’s newly passed Data Protection Act, 2019 looks set to protect individuals’ privacy and regulate the processing of personal data.

Prohibitively high digital communication costs make it difficult for Chadians to go online despite the restoration of access to social media platforms after a 16-month disruption.

Disability rights were at the centre of the Kenya Internet Governance Forum with participants discussing obligations for the state and for private companies for persons with disabilities.

During an internet freedom and digital rights training for CSOs it was highlighted that recently passed legislation in Malawi requiring mandatory registration has the capacity to allow state surveillance in the absence of a data protection law and should be of concern to all Malawians.

The latest report from Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) looks at the correlation between the level of authoritarianism in a country, the reluctance of that country’s leader to relinquish power and the likelihood of an internet disruption or internet shutdown.

More than 170 organizations from over 60 countries that make up the #KeepitOn Coalition reacted to a reported internet shutdown in Zimbabwe.