Dialogue on Internet Rights and Freedom in Kenya
By Marilyn Vernon | In Kenya, whereas the use of the internet had expanded into all areas of day to day living, the threat of government surveillance and interference has impacted upon user confidence...
View ArticleCIPESA Convenes Journalists to Discuss Uganda’s Data Protection Bill
By Esther Nakkazi | Ugandan citizens’ personal data may be at risk of misuse if the Uganda Data protection and Privacy Bill (2014) to be tabled before parliament is passed in current form. Currently,...
View ArticleWhat Should be on the 2016 Agenda for Internet Freedom in Africa?
By Juliet Nanfuka | Towards the end of 2015, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) under the OpenNet Africa initiative convened some of Africa’s leading...
View ArticleNew Year, Old Habits: Threats to Freedom of Expression Online in Kenya
By Juliet Nanfuka | The beginning of 2016 has been marked with a series of arrests and summonses of individuals in Kenya as a result of content shared through social media platforms. Contrary to the...
View ArticleUgandans Turn to Proxies, VPN in Face of Social Media Shutdown
| By CIPESA Writer On the morning of the highly anticipated general elections in Uganda, citizens woke up to no access to social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. The popular mobile...
View ArticleAfrican Women’s Safety Online in the Sustainable Development Goals Era
By Ashnah Kalemera | On March 8, the world will commemorate International Women’s Day under the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality”. According to the United Nations, the...
View ArticleJoint Letter on Internet Shutdown in Uganda
By Access Now | Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Mr. David Kaye, Mr. Joseph Cannataci, Mr. Maina Kiai, Mr. Michel Forst, Ms. Faith Pansy Tlakula, and Ms. Reine Alapini-Gansou cc: African Union African Peer...
View ArticleAfrican Civil Society Urged to Take Active Role in ICANN
By Marilyn Vernon | Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are a key player in the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance. However, civil society has been absent from discussions on the technical...
View ArticleAnalysis of Twitter Activity During the 2016 Presidential Debates in Uganda
By CIPESA Writer | The 2015/2016 electioneering season in Uganda set a precedent in the use of social media as a means for politicians to reach out and engage with citizens. It was the first time in...
View ArticleThe African Declaration is Key to Reach a Common Understanding of Online...
By APC | “A fundamental challenge in need of urgent resolution in the digital age is how to protect human rights and freedoms on the Internet, and the African continent is no exception.” This is the...
View ArticleWorkshop Announcement: ICT in Governance – Kenya
Application | Interested in ICT? Interested in how it can be used to promote good governance in Kenya? Do you have your sights set on championing the path that ICT Governance in Kenya takes? Are you a...
View ArticleReport: Women’s Rights and the Internet in Uganda
By APC, CIPESA, WOUGNET | This submission is a joint stakeholder contribution to the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism for Uganda. This submission focuses on women’s rights...
View ArticleIs 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...
View ArticleUgandan Artists, Journalists Decry Declining Freedom of Expression
By Ashnah Kalemera | As the world celebrated World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), the media and artists in Uganda spoke in unison about declining levels of freedom of expression in the country. Media...
View ArticleUganda Again Blocks Social Media to Stifle Anti-Museveni Protests
By CIPESA Writer | A day before Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was inaugurated for another five-year term, access to social media platforms including Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter was blocked on...
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Announcement: Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2016
The Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa is scheduled to take place on September 27–29, 2016 in Kampala, Uganda. The Forum provides a unique opportunity to deliberate and build a network of supporters...
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Pushing Back Against Internet Shutdowns
By Marylin Vernon | Advancing human rights for the 3.2 billion users of the internet, of which two billion are from developing countries, needs a robust and systematic approach to ensure that the...
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Zimbabwe Becomes the Latest Country to Shut Down Social Media
By Juliet Nanfuka | Less than a week after the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council declared that online rights must be protected and condemned disruptions to internet access, citizens in...
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Analysis of the Relationship Between Online Information Controls and...
By Arthur Gwagwa | The defining era in Zambia’s current rise in online political and civic activism can be traced back to the period between 2011 and 2013. This is when the late President Sata embraced...
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Cyber Diplomacy with Africa: Lessons From the African Cybersecurity Convention
By Mailyn Fidler | Two years ago, the African Union (AU) adopted its Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection. The Convention seeks to improve how African states address cybercrime,...
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