[kictanet] Fwd: [Internet Policy] Nigeria Social Media Bill is Back

Thu Mar 17 10:21:13 EAT 2016

Good idea Ahmed..

*Ali Hussein*

*Principal*

*Hussein & Associates*

Tel: +254 713 601113

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Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
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On Thu, Mar 17, 2016 at 10:11 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <
ultimateprogramer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Agreed, this can happen to anyone.
>
> Is it a good idea to have to draft a unified blog post that we can also
> all cross post to our blogs to have a unified talk on this matter?
>
> On Thu, Mar 17, 2016 at 8:29 AM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>> There's a worrying trend across Africa to roll back reforms and
>> democratic progress in freedom of speech and association.
>>
>> Africans across the continent must stand up and be counted.
>>
>> Ali Hussein
>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>> On Mar 17, 2016 7:08 AM, "Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet" <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Asante Barrack. Any pointers on how the Kictanet community can be of
>>> value to this discussion?
>>> On 17 Mar 2016 7:03 am, "Barrack Otieno via kictanet" <
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Listers,
>>>>
>>>> This might be of interest.
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>> From: "livingstone Kalu" <innovativekalu at gmail.com>
>>>> Date: Mar 17, 2016 6:03 AM
>>>> Subject: [Internet Policy] Nigeria Social Media Bill is Back
>>>> To: <internetpolicy at elists.isoc.org>
>>>> Cc:
>>>>
>>>> There’s a battle going on in Nigeria over a dangerous bill that
>>>> threatens free expression online. The good news is that people in Nigeria
>>>> are fighting back, and it recently appeared that the draft law — nicknamed
>>>> the “Social Media Bill” by concerned citizens — was beaten back
>>>> <http://www.punchng.com/senate-may-dump-anti-social-media-bill/>. But
>>>> last week, the Senate revived the bill with little notice. Unless the
>>>> global community stands in support of those fighting for free expression in
>>>> Nigeria, we may soon see this vaguely worded, misguided
>>>> legislation move forward — and the bad ideas that it contains get copied
>>>> and pasted into legislation in other countries where free expression is
>>>> under attack.
>>>>
>>>> Specifically, the draft bill — officially called “An act to prohibit
>>>> frivolous petitions; and other matters connected therewith” — would require
>>>> any person submitting a petition to the government to have an accompanying
>>>> affidavit, making it much more difficult, and costly, for people to
>>>> complain about public services or graft. Further, the text imposes harsh
>>>> penalties for tweets or text messages that convey false statements about a
>>>> wide range of actors — from “a group of persons” to an “institution of
>>>> government.” Nigerians who violate these provisions could be fined up to
>>>> N2,000,000 ($10,000) or spend up to two years in jail.
>>>>
>>>> In short, the bill criminalizes speaking out against individuals or
>>>> groups online, including expressing dissent against the government, with
>>>> vague and disproportionate restrictions that do not strictly adhere to
>>>> legitimate purposes.
>>>>
>>>> What’s worse, the language in the draft bill is so broad that it’s not
>>>> clear that internet users would even understand how to comply with the law.
>>>> It would be difficult to determine whether a post is intended to “set the
>>>> public against” a vaguely defined group. At the same time as being
>>>> overboard, the bill is illogically specific. It targets WhatsApp, the
>>>> private messaging application, and Twitter, the micro-blogging platform.
>>>> That’s a particular threat to journalists in Nigeria who use these
>>>> platforms to report on issues of public interest, and it could knock out a
>>>> vital tool for combating corruption and keeping government accountable.
>>>>
>>>> The threat to free expression is compounded by the threat to innovation
>>>> in Nigeria. Already the continent’s largest economy, Nigeria has 15 million
>>>> Facebook users and over 97 million mobile internet subscriptions. Its
>>>> technology sector is rapidly expanding. This restrictive law would only
>>>> deter investment and discourage further development of Nigeria’s internet
>>>> ecosystem.
>>>>
>>>> Fortunately, activists in Nigeria are continuing to speak out,
>>>> protesting both on and offline. In addition, if the bill passes into law,
>>>> there may be legal avenues for fighting it. There are strong protections
>>>> for free expression in Nigeria’s constitution, and Nigeria has also
>>>> ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right, which guarantees
>>>> this right. Furthermore, free expression is protected under international
>>>> law, and the United Nations has specifically stated that the right to free
>>>> expression applies online.
>>>>
>>>> About two weeks ago, Senate President Bukola Saraki reassured activists
>>>> when he stated that section 4 of the bill would not be passed
>>>> <http://www.punchng.com/anti-social-media-bill-wont-be-passed-saraki/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter>.
>>>> (He appeared to be referring to section 3(4), which prescribes the
>>>> penalties for social media.) Yet the Senate has since suddenly revived the
>>>> bill and set a Public Hearing — part of the legislative process — for
>>>> Monday, March 7. Whether or not section 3(4) is struck from the text, the
>>>> Social Media Bill should not be passed.
>>>>
>>>> Nigerian President Buhari has stated that he would not sign any bill
>>>> that doesn’t comport with Nigeria’s constitution, and the Social Media Bill
>>>> clearly does not. Yet the unrelated Cybercrime Act of 2015 is now in force,
>>>> and through sections 24(a) and 24(b), imposes harsh penalties for speech in
>>>> the name of security that violate the right to free expression. Clearly,
>>>> it’s best to stop this bill now, before it gets any closer to becoming law.
>>>>
>>>> It’s not only Nigeria’s leadership, free expression, and innovation
>>>> that are at stake. In internet law and policy, even when a law is beaten
>>>> back, it often gets reanimated in legislatures across the globe.
>>>>
>>>> To fight back, the global community that cares about free expression
>>>> needs to unite behind common principles,and spread the word: when users’
>>>> rights are under attack, we have your back. As members of the Nigerian
>>>> Senate hold the public hearing, they should not be left in doubt regarding
>>>> the dangers of the Social Media Bill or any other bill that clamps down on
>>>> expression online. It should be withdrawn immediately. Nigerians have
>>>> spoken out, and their leaders should listen.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Livingstone Kalu
>>>>
>>>> innovativekalu at gmail.com
>>>>
>>>> eStream Networks
>>>>
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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.
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *Ahmed Maawy*
> Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)
> Ambassador - Open Knowledge
> Director - Startup Grind Mombasa
> Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer
> (KE) +254 714 960 627
> Skype: ultimateprogramer
>
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>
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