[kictanet] social media in UG blocked on election day

Thu Feb 18 13:27:15 EAT 2016

Hey guys,

This week 
I reached out to some of our Ugandan local partners on another mailing list
in the event this would happen.

The good thing is that there are free tools to circumvent such similar
violations on the of freedom of expression. Please feel free to reach out
to reach out to Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline
<https://www.accessnow.org/digital-security-helpline/>,
<https://www.accessnow.org/digital-security-helpline2/> through which
activists, independent media, and civil society organizations across the
globe can get real-time, direct technical assistance and advice 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.

Last Friday (12th) our 24 hour  Digital Security Helpline
<https://www.accessnow.org/digital-security-helpline/> and some of our
local partners detected a minor outage that lasted not more than an hour
and this made us prepare for any eventuality.

This is part of an unfortunate and growing trend. Rather than an exception,
internet shutdowns are becoming the norm as more governments order the
suspension or throttling of entire networks. Often justified for public
safety purposes, shutdowns instead cut off access to vital information and
emergency services, plunging whole societies into darkness.

This is despite previous research showing that Internet Shutdowns and state
violence Go hand
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/06/research-shows-internet-shutdowns-and-state-violence-go-hand-hand-syria>
in hand, and this is something Access Now and local partners documented
while dealing with Internet Shutdowns in Egypt
<https://www.accessnow.org/five-years-later-the-internet-shutdown-that-rocked-egypt/>,
Sudan
<https://www.accessnow.org/mass-internet-shutdown-in-sudan-follows-days-of-protest/>,
the Central African Republic
<https://www.accessnow.org/evidence-international-criminal-court-net-shutdown-in-central-african-repub/>,
Niger <https://www.facebook.com/accessnow/posts/10153030213288480>, Democratic
Republic of Congo
<https://www.accessnow.org/violating-international-law-drc-orders-telcos-vodafone-millicon-airtel/>,
Congo-Brazzaville
<https://www.accessnow.org/government-may-have-ordered-internet-shutdown-in-congo-brazzaville/>,
Burundi
<https://www.accessnow.org/access-urges-un-and-african-union-experts-to-take-action-on-burundi-interne/>,
among other places outside the African Union member states.

A growing body of jurisprudence declares shutdowns to violate international
law. U.N. and regional human rights experts issued an historic statement
<https://www.accessnow.org/blog/2015/05/04/internet-kill-switches-are-a-violation-of-human-rights-law-declare-major-un>
declaring that internet “kill switches” can never be justified under
international human rights law, even in times of conflict. General Comment
34 of the Human Rights Committee, the official interpreter of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasizes that
restrictions on speech online must be strictly necessary and proportionate
to achieve a legitimate purpose.

In times of shutdown, it is incumbent on the entire tech and telecom sector
to join together to assert the rights of their users to freedom of
expression, access to information, and assembly. Only by presenting a
united front, and calling out the disproportionate and harmful impacts of
government-ordered shutdowns, will the sector begin to mitigate and
eventually prevent this abusive tactic.
Please feel free to enlist the help of Access Now’s Digital Security
Helpline <https://www.accessnow.org/digital-security-helpline/>, through
which activists, independent media, and civil society organizations across
the globe can get real-time, direct technical assistance and advice 24
hours a day, seven days a week. These services, include:

   1. Rapid response on digital security incidents
   2. Personalized recommendations, instruction, and follow-up support on
   digital security issues
   3. Help assessing risks and creating organizational or community
   security strategies
   4. Guidance on security practices and tools for organizations,
   communities, groups, and individuals
   5. Support for securing technical infrastructure, websites, and social
   media against attacks
   6. Referrals, capacity-building, in-person consultations, and training
   7. Education materials in multiple languages

--
Best Regards,

*Ephraim Percy Kenyanito*
Sub-Saharan Africa Policy Analyst
Access Now | accessnow.org

@ekenyanito
PGP: E6BA8DC1
Fingerprint: B0FA394AF73DEB7AA1FDC7360CFED26DE6BA8DC1

*Subscribe *to the Access Now Express
<https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/#sign-up>, our weekly newsletter on
digital rights
*Sign up* for our action alerts <https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/>

On 18 Feb 2016 12:21, "Ebele Okobi via kictanet" <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Was it announced as a temporary block, or an ongoing block? If the former,
> did they announce a date by which it would end? And have they simply asked
> operators to throttle access? I’m curious w/r to the democratic process
> they invoked, and the basis they used.
>
> [image: Description: Description: Description:
> cid:image001.png at 01C8F888.8FCCE630]
>
>
> Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa
>
> m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315
>
> 2 Stephen St | London | W1T 1AN
>
> ebeleokobi at fb.com
>
>
>
> From: "Juliet Nanfuka." <juliet at cipesa.org>
> Date: Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 9:10 AM
> To: Ebele Okobi <ebeleokobi at fb.com>
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] social media in UG blocked on election day
>
> Hello Ebele,
>
> There was a televised interview with the commission earlier.
> On Feb 18, 2016 12:04 PM, "Ebele Okobi" <ebeleokobi at fb.com> wrote:
>
>> Have they made a public statement?
>>
>> [image: Description: Description: Description:
>> cid:image001.png at 01C8F888.8FCCE630]
>>
>>
>> Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa
>>
>> m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315
>>
>> 2 Stephen St | London | W1T 1AN
>>
>> ebeleokobi at fb.com
>>
>>
>>
>> From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+ebeleokobi=fb.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> on behalf of "Juliet Nanfuka. via kictanet" <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> Reply-To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> Date: Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 8:59 AM
>> To: Ebele Okobi <ebeleokobi at fb.com>
>> Cc: "Juliet Nanfuka." <juliet at cipesa.org>
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] social media in UG blocked on election day
>>
>> Hello Riva,
>>
>> Yes were have been following the developments and have access to social
>> media.
>>
>> Blockage has been confirmed by the Uganda Communications Commission.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Juliet
>> CIPESA colleagues, are you able to access social media?
>>
>>
>> http://www.theinsider.ug/uganda-blocks-facebook-twitter-on-election-day-as-ballots-go-missing/
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.theinsider.ug_uganda-2Dblocks-2Dfacebook-2Dtwitter-2Don-2Delection-2Dday-2Das-2Dballots-2Dgo-2Dmissing_&d=CwMFaQ&c=5VD0RTtNlTh3ycd41b3MUw&r=ArvepG4_wcNu_X9xi3nb_Xa9WsGLVfmK6mwPdVONOTE&m=9tc64KG88b_SNNXgX7PKOY4ijVkgo73ucs0PF_iRjUo&s=fk6iwDjfossJPHwnK3k5wBGEFeS4OocCjZ1SGu0Ziyk&e=>
>>
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>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
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>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
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>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
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