Internet Freedom

On Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Malawi went to the polls in a historic presidential re-run. The southern African nation shocked the continent and set precedence when the constitutional court overturned the May 2019 general election outcome and ordered a rerun due to apparent widespread vote-rigging.

On May 21st, 2019, Malawians went to cast their ballots, with the hope of a free and fair election devoid of all forms of violence and election malpractice. Almost ten candidates including the sitting president Peter Mutharika, who was standing for his second and final term, heavily contested the election.

While ballots were cast in a peaceful and uneventful manner, the aftermath of the elections left a mark for the people of Malawi. Three days into the voter counting, the opposition reported over 147 cases of ballot irregularities to the Malawi Electoral Commission and result sheets were found to have been tampered with, with some sections blotted out and altered with a correction fluid popularly known as Tippex.

News of the irregularities sparked protests in some opposition strongholds, however, the court lifted the injunction and the electoral commission confirmed President Mutharika’s narrow victory.

With 39% % of the votes in his favour, incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progress Party was declared the winner, beating his close opponents Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party and Saulos Chilima of United Transformation Movement who won 35% and 20% of the votes respectively. As of 2019, Malawi utilised the winner takes all system. President Mutharika refused to ratify the electoral reforms passed by Parliament, which would allow the majority vote to win (50% plus 1 system).

Meanwhile, the opposition runner up Lazarus Chakwera maintained that his party would not accept the fraudulent election outcome and subsequently petitioned the Constitutional Court. In 2019, Malawi was marred with unprecedented protest action by citizens, ranging from small and spontaneous unrests to large and organised demonstrations. Between May 2019 and July 2019, several protesters were killed and millions of dollars’ worth of property damage. The demonstrators demanded that President Peter Mutharika concedes defeat and the Electoral Commissions head, Jane Ansah, resigns for allegedly presiding over a ‘rigged poll.’

In February 2020, the Constitutional Court of Malawi finally delivered the landmark verdict by declaring the results of the election null, adding that they had not met the standards of a free and fair election, and called for fresh elections within 150 days, a move that was welcomed by many Malawians. The electoral commission was also charged with failing to uphold its constitutional responsibilities. The verdict, which was later validated by the Supreme Court, illustrated the growing independence of the Judiciary in Malawi.

Although an election postponement was looming, Malawians were bent on voting on June 23, 2020, regardless of the COVID 19 virus and rumours of delayed ballot papers that threatened to have the election date shifted even further. Some CSO groups and opposition party representatives went as far as monitoring the plane in real-time that was transporting the ballot papers to Lilongwe. In addition, the group gathered at the airport to monitor the arrival of the ballot papers.

While Malawi may have fared well in setting democratic precedence, the country reported declining respect for digital rights in 2019. The May 2019 elections saw a series of warning statements issued by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), aimed at internet users over the use of online and social media tools during the election period. A partial internet shutdown was also recorded shortly after the polls closed, the disruption lasted several hours on the evening of May 21st, 2019.

Such deciding moments provide a perfect cover for digital right violations to occur, perpetrated by those seeking to silence loud and dissenting voices online. Paradigm Initiative continues to monitor the situation in Malawi for any digital rights implications that may arise during the 2020 election rerun.

The entire world has recorded more than 5.3 million confirmed cases of Covid-19; 2.12 million cases cured and 342 thousand deaths as of May 22, 2020. Francophone Africa countries are also affected in large numbers by the pandemic. In May 2020, this part of the continent experienced a growth in cases of infected people with an increase in the number of deaths, despite the preventive measures initiated by various countries. 

At the start of the pandemic in Africa, in February 2020, measures to fight against Covid-19 displayed a real indirect strategy of digital rights violations by certain governments. However, in certain countries, measures contributing to the desire to improve the conditions of use of digital, necessary for the respect of digital rights have been observed.

The context of digital rights in Francophone Africa is particular even in times of crisis. Cases of violation of digital rights during electoral periods or post-electoral crises are a reminder of the behavior of governments in the management of digital rights in crisis times. The Covid-19 period is therefore not clearly different. Several governments have displayed a face of non-respect of digital rights, but also of the desire to exploit the digital divide for socio-political purposes. Other countries having become aware of the consequences of non-compliance with digital rights, have expressed some progress, notably Gabon,Togo and the DRC, amongst others

In general, the appearance of Covid-19 has urged governments to take a series of  measures against the pandemic with human rights impacts in some cases. The standard of living in the region does not allow populations in confinement and is almost inactive to benefit from quality of digital services.

From Cameroon to Rwanda, or from Morocco to Burundi, certain governments with the assistance of mobile telephone operators have reduced the prices of Internet, and strengthened the stability and confidence of the network.

Cases of human rights violations on the Internet are reflected in some countries by cases of indirect arrests of people, mass control and surveillance of populations, fragmented management of personal data, instability of the Internet and the poor quality of the internet connection with some operators was recorded at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, notably in Cameroon, Algeria and Morocco amongst others

Mixed situation in Cameroon

At the start of the crisis, the mobile operators: Camtel, Orange and MTN have announced support measures during the confinement period. Camtel, a public telecommunications company, has made an attractive offer, but not free, for Internet connection prices for 150 GB at around 20 USD per month. Operators Mtn and Orange have meanwhile lowered the prices of mobile financial transactions.

On the other hand, the Covid-19 period was impacted by the rise of fake news on the Covid-19 and on the country’s political situation in social media, prompting the authorities to initiate actions against some internet users. In April 2020, a letter from the office of the President of the Republic gave instructions to the Director of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC) in order to track all the accounts spreading false information and fake news on platforms like Facebook by using technological means. 

Also in the context of actions to fight against the pandemic, the opposition political party, Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) through its President, Maurice Kamto had initiated fundraising actions to support some needy Cameroonians affected by the crisis. The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, had considered this action illegal by sending correspondence to the Directors General of MTN and Orange requesting the closure of the Mobile Money and Orange Money accounts intended for this fundraising effort. The organizers of this operation considered the disruption of their accounts as a manifest violation of their rights related to digital online payment services.

Covid-19 and management of personal data

In February and March, especially in Cameroon and other countries in the region, passengers from foreign countries suspected of carrying the virus saw their data and identities on the internet, but also on social media. Several cases of deaths have been identified as carriers of Covid-19 before being sometimes denied by the family or relatives. During this period of crisis, the families and relatives of Covid-19 patients fear the disclosure of their status on social media, which can accentuate the stigma.

The use of personal data is considered by certain countries in the world as an effective means of combating Covid-19. This opportunity for Africa could cause more problems than solutions in a context where few countries have a law on the protection of personal data. Rasha Abdul Rahim, Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech, on this trend in the use of personal data says that ” Technology can play an important role in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, however, this does not give for as much carte blanche to governments to extend digital surveillance. Recent history shows us that governments are reluctant to give up temporary surveillance powers, and we must not allow ourselves to be dragged into a state of permanent widespread surveillance . ”

Morocco: arrests for fake news

In early March 2020, the video of two Moroccans who were shooting hoaxes in the street by announcing to people that they had been contaminated abroad by Covid-19 “to see their reactions” were arrested in Marrakech. The police authorities had already announced in the same period the arrest of a resident of Tetouan (north) who had announced in a video on social media to “register dead people linked to the virus”. On Thursday March 19, a bill n° 22.20 relating to the use of social networks and similar channels in the country was adopted and presented by the Minister of Justice, and was not long in being applied in Morocco. The government in several press releases had reported that “All legal provisions will be taken (…) to identify the persons involved in the publication of these allegations and lies”.

Algeria: an example?

Algeria is considered to be one of the countries that provided a rapid and positive response during the Covid-19 period for the development of digital infrastructure in the country and the improvement of online confidence. During the Council of Ministers on March 22, 2020, Algeria made the decision to accelerate its digital transformation through the “Digital Transition Initiative”. Tunisian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said the current situation is “also an opportunity for us to realize the vulnerability of our national economy, due to our neglect for decades to free it from oil rent”.

The Algerian Modernization Initiative applies on several levels: the protection of personal data based on Law No. 18-07 of June 10, 2018, the digitization of the central administration, documents and administrative forms, the generalization of databases based on the national identification number (NIN), the creation of a control panel for decision-making and monitoring of government projects. The Initiative also includes the modernization of the government’s Internet network to ensure liaison between the departments. The project also offers several practical measures, including a digital service platform for citizens.

Covid-19 and e-learning

According to UNESCO, the digital divide  is particularly marked in low-income countries: in sub-Saharan Africa, over 89% of learners do not have access to home computers and 82% do not have access to the Internet. About 56 million learners live in places not served by mobile networks, almost half of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Online training for learners in confinement in the Francophone part of Africa is a constraint which presents the reality of the disparity in the development of telecommunications infrastructures and therefore of violation of the digital rights of various Africans, unable to benefit from the digital online training services. The lack of quality infrastructure during the Covid-19 era is one aspect that accentuates disparity, the digital divide and violations of digital rights. 

Countries like Rwanda, Egypt and many others who have invested seriously in digitalization over the years, today serve as examples in terms of the fruits they derive from digital in these hours of global health crisis. For the moment, the practices which contribute to the respect of digital rights from the particular case to the general is important. 

The author of this article, Rigobert Kenmogne is Paradigm Initiative Digital rights program officer  in Francophone Africa

Le monde d’entier a enregistré plus de 5,3 millions de cas confirmés du coronavirus (Covid-19) avec 2,12 millions de cas guéris et 342 000 décès au 24 mai 2020. Les pays d’Afrique sont aussi touchés par la pandémie sur le continent africain. Au mois de mai 2020, cette partie du continent a connu une croissance des cas de personnes contaminées avec une augmentation du nombre de morts, malgré les mesures barrières initiées par différents pays. La particularité de la crise sanitaire dans cette région du continent ayant enregistré diverses violations des droits l’homme en ligne ces dernières années est remarquable.

Au début de la pandémie en Afrique, en février 2020, des mesures de lutte contre le Covid-19 ont affiché une réelle stratégie indirecte de violation des droits numériques par certains gouvernements. Néanmoins dans certains pays, des mesures contribuant à la volonté d’améliorer les conditions d’utilisation du numérique, nécessaires pour le respect des droits numériques ont été observées.

Le contexte des droits numériques en Afrique francophone est particulier même en temps de crise. Les cas de violation des droits numériques lors des périodes électorales ou des crises post-électorales rappellent le comportement des gouvernants dans la gestion des droits numériques en période de crise. La période du Covid-19 n’est donc pas manifestement différente. Plusieurs gouvernements ont affiché un visage de non-respect des droits numériques, mais aussi de la volonté d’instrumentalisation de la fracture numérique à des fins socio-politiques. D’autres pays ayant pris conscience des conséquences du non-respect des droits numériques, ont exprimé quelques avancées, notamment le Gabon, l’Algérie, le Togo, la RDC…

De manière générale, l’apparition du Covid-19 a poussé les gouvernements à prendre un ensemble de mesures barrières contre la pandémie avec des impacts les droits humains dans certains cas. Le niveau de vie dans la région ne permet pas aux populations en confinement et presque inactives de bénéficier des services digitaux de qualité.

Du Cameroun au Rwanda, ou du Maroc au Burundi, certains gouvernements avec le concours des opérateurs de téléphonie mobile ont allégé la connexion du réseau Internet par la réduction des prix de connexion, en renforçant la stabilité et la confiance du réseau.

Des cas de figure de violations des droits humains sur Internet se traduisent dans certains pays par des cas d’arrestations indirectes des personnes, le contrôle de masse et la surveillance des populations, la gestion parcellaire des données personnelles, l’instabilité du réseau Internet et la mauvaise qualité de la connexion Internet chez certains opérateurs ont été enregistrées au début de la pandémie du Covid-19 notamment au Cameroun, en Algérie, au Maroc…

Situation mitigée au Cameroun

Au début de la crise, les opérateurs de téléphonie mobile : Camtel, Orange et MTN ont annoncé des mesures d’accompagnement en période de confinement. La Camtel, entreprise publique de télécommunication, a fait une offre alléchante, mais pas gratuite pour les prix de connexion Internet pour 150 Go à environ 20 USD le mois. Les opérateurs Mtn et Orange ont quant à eux, ont baissé les prix des transactions financières mobiles.

De l’autre côté, la période du Covid-19 a été impactée par la montée des fake news sur le Covid-19 et sur la situation politique du pays dans les réseaux sociaux, poussant les autorités à initier des actions contre certains utilisateurs Internet. Au mois d’avril 2020, un courrier du cabinet du Président de la République donnait des instructions au Directeur de l’Agence Nationale des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (ANTIC) afin de traquer par des moyens technologiques tous les comptes qui diffusent les fausses informations et fake news sur les plateformes comme Facebook.

Aussi dans le cadre des actions de luttes contre la pandémie, le parti politique de l’opposition, Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) à travers son président, Maurice Kamto avait initié des actions de collecte de fonds afin soutenir les nécessiteux en période de crise. Le ministre de l’Administration Territoriale, Paul Atanga Nji, avait considéré cette action comme illégale en adressant des correspondances aux Directeurs généraux de MTN et Orange demandant la fermeture des comptes Mobile Money et Orange Money destinés aux collectes des fonds. Les organisateurs de cette opération de collecte ont considéré la suspension de leurs comptes comme une violation manifeste de leurs droits liés aux services digitaux de paiement en ligne.

Covid-19 et gestion des données personnelles

Au début de la crise sanitaire, et notamment au Cameroun et dans d’autres pays de la région, les passagers venus des pays étrangers et soupçonnés d’être porteurs du virus ont vu leurs données et identités sur Internet, mais aussi sur les réseaux sociaux. Plusieurs cas de morts ont été identifiés comme porteurs de Covid-19 avant d’être parfois démentis par la famille ou les proches. Durant cette période de crise, les familles et les proches des malades du Covid-19 craignent la divulgation de leur statut sur les réseaux sociaux, ce qui peut accentuer la stigmatisation.

L’utilisation des données personnelles est considérée par certains pays dans le monde comme un moyen efficace de lutter contre le Covid-19. Cette opportunité pour l’Afrique pourrait causer plus de problèmes que de solutions dans un contexte où peu de pays ont une loi sur la protection des données personnelles. Rasha Abdul Rahim, directrice adjointe d’Amnesty Tech, sur cette tendance de l’utilisation des données personnelles déclare que « la technologie peut jouer un rôle important dans le combat mondial contre la pandémie de Covid-19, cependant, cela ne donne pas pour autant carte blanche aux gouvernements pour étendre la surveillance numérique. L’histoire récente nous montre que les gouvernements sont réticents à renoncer aux pouvoirs de surveillance temporaires, et nous ne devons pas nous laisser entraîner sans réagir dans un état de surveillance généralisée permanent ».

Maroc : les arrestations pour fake news

En début du mois de mars 2020, deux Marocains qui tournaient des vidéos canulars dans la rue en annonçant à des passants avoir été contaminés à l’étranger par le Covid-19 « pour voir leurs réactions » ont été arrêtées à Marrakech. La direction de la police avait déjà annoncé dans la même période l’interpellation d’un habitant de Tetouan (nord) qui avait annoncé dans une vidéo avoir « enregistrer des personnes mortes liées au virus ». Le jeudi 19 mars, un projet de loi n° 22.20 relatif à l’utilisation des réseaux sociaux et canaux similaires dans le pays a été adopté et présenté par le ministre de la Justice, et n’a pas tardé pour être appliqué au Maroc. Le gouvernement dans plusieurs communiqués avait signalé que « toutes les dispositions légales seraient prises (…) en vue d’identifier les personnes impliquées dans la publication de ces allégations et mensonges ».

Algérie : un cas d’exemple ?

L’Algérie est considérée comme l’un des pays ayant apporté une réponse rapide et positive en période du Covid-19 pour le développement des infrastructures du numérique dans le pays et l’amélioration de la confiance en ligne. Lors du Conseil des ministres du 22 mars 2020, l’Algérie a pris la décision, d’accélérer sa transformation numérique à travers « l’Initiative de transition numérique ». Le président tunisien, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a indiqué que la situation actuelle est « également une occasion pour nous de prendre conscience de la vulnérabilité de notre économie nationale, en raison de notre négligence pendant des décennies à la libérer de la rente pétrolière ».

L’Initiative de la modernisation algérienne s’applique à plusieurs niveaux : la protection des données à caractère personnel basée sur la loi n° 18-07 du 10 juin 2018, la numérisation de l’administration centrale, des documents et des formulaires administratifs, la généralisation des bases de données sur la base du numéro d’identification national (NIN), la création d’un tableau de commande pour la prise de décisions et le suivi des projets gouvernementaux. L’Initiative intègre aussi la modernisation du réseau Internet gouvernemental pour assurer la liaison entre les ministères. Le projet propose également plusieurs mesures pratiques, dont une plateforme de services numériques pour les citoyens.

Covid-19 et e-learning

Selon l’UNESCO, les disparités sont particulièrement marquées dans les pays à faible revenu : en Afrique subsaharienne, plus 89 % des apprenants n’ont pas accès aux ordinateurs familiaux et 82 % n’ont pas accès à l’Internet. Environ 56 millions d’apprenants vivent en des lieux non desservis par les réseaux mobiles, dont près de la moitié en Afrique subsaharienne. Les formations en ligne pour les apprenants en confinement dans la partie francophone d’Afrique est une contrainte qui présente le visage de la disparité dans le développement des infrastructures de télécommunications et donc de violation des droits numériques de divers plusieurs Africains, incapables de bénéficier des services digitaux de formation en ligne. Le manque d’infrastructure de qualité en période de Covid-19 est un aspect qui accentue la disparité, la fracture numérique et les violations des droits numériques.

Des pays comme le Rwanda, l’Égypte et bien d’autres qui ont investi sérieusement dans la numérisation au fil des années, servent aujourd’hui d’exemples au regard des fruits qu’ils tirent du numérique en ces heures de crise sanitaire mondiale. Il reste pour le moment de s’accentuant les pratiques qui concourent au respect des droits numériques du cas particulier au général.

L’auteur de cet article, Rigobert Kenmogne est responsable droits numériques en Afrique Francophone pour Paradigm Initiative

In the Civil Society space, it is almost trite to state that ‘Freedom of Information’ is an essential freedom. We advocate for the passage of laws that uphold this Freedom and after they are enacted we advocate for systems to ensure they are enforced. 

In Nigeria, the first phase of this advocacy journey was completed in 2011 when the President signed the Freedom of Information Bill into Law. It took years but we were grateful for its enactment.  We have also followed the journey of the Right to Information Bill in Ghana which was assented to by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on May 21 2019. 

While we celebrate the passage and assent of these laws, we are however expending time and resources focusing on putting the law to use. The thinking is that if a Freedom exists then we should be able to exercise it and if we can’t then we need to find out why. 

If you ever sent a Freedom of Information request to a public institution in Nigeria, the chances that you got a response to your request are dangerously low. Somehow it would seem that the freedom to access information exists only as a concept with no corresponding obligation on those who hold the information (to supply it). 

But indeed such obligation clearly exists in the very law that vests and affirms the right. As an Organization, we have sent a wide range of FOIs touching on our thematic focus and have had a range of experiences from multiple requests and from one Public Institution to another . However, despite disappointing realities such as the total ignoring of our requests sometimes, we still believe in the processes set down in the law and are always willing to  legally challenge such refusals. 

One of such scenarios presented itself in 2017 when we wrote a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Science and Technology regarding information on the building and launch of two of two new satellites by the National Administration of Space Research and Development Agency (NASDRA). We were interested in the intended use of the satellites and their specifications. 

It’s good to pause here to explain the rationale behind FOI Requests. We have found that many regard the request for information as a criticism of work or disagreement with policy, but that’s not necessarily true . At the heart of the FOI requests we send, is a genuine inquiry into facts. As we all know, fake news and the spread of false information have attempted to devalue the quality of public discourse and knowledge. So, when we ask public institutions clear questions, we are attempting to elicit the right information from the right sources. 

That said, our request to the Ministry of Science and Technology was not granted. As many Civil Society Organizations will attest to, this is not a strange ‘reaction’ from a public institution. For us however, the fact that this reaction was anticipated did not make it acceptable. 

Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act clearly provides that any applicant who has been denied access to information to apply to the Court for a review of the matter within 30 days after the public institution denies the application. So we took advantage of that provision and approached the court seeking for a declaration that the failure and/or refusal of the Respondents to disclose or make available to the applicants the information amounts to a violation of the applicants’ right of access. We also sought for a Declaration that the failure and/or refusal of the Respondents to disclose information amounts to wrongful denial of access to information and finally prayed the court for an order of mandamus compelling the respondent to disclose the specifications of the two new satellites and the details of their intended use.

We argued our case and so did the Ministry. Particularly, the Ministry argued that since the information was not under their supervision, it was impracticable for them to supply it. They also argued that the Agency (NASDRA) had no immediate plan to build and launch new satellites. This argument, though simple, revealed something profound to us. If the Ministry had simply responded to our FOI request with the information that the Agency had no immediate plans to build and launch new satellites, we doubt that we would have had to resort to the Courts. We wondered (and still wonder) if we could conclude that the Nigerian public institution would rather answer to the courts than to the citizens.  

The Court reviewed our arguments vis-a-vis applicable laws and reiterated that Section 7 of the Act gives us the right of access to the court to compel the release of the information. The court also pointed out that the law allows the original public institution to transfer the request for information to another agency which it believes has the information that is being requested from it. 

Finally, the court granted all our reliefs and ordered that the Respondents grant the request sought and where they are not in possession of the information requested, they should explain so in a letter and anchor their explanations under legally stipulated exemptions. We were also awarded the cost of N100,000 in our favour. 

This was yet another interesting reveal where we saw the balance of the scale of justice  leaning towards rights and affirming the responsibilities that have to be carried out  in order for those rights to be effectively exercised. 

Of course, we attempted to enforce this judgment but that has proven difficult in itself especially because the subject in focus is arguably moot. 

But we have gotten more from this case than a response to our letter might have given. We have tested the law and it worked, at least in this scenario. We have seen a court of competent jurisdiction hold a public institution accountable to the people it serves and we have strengthened our commitment to seeking, sharing and addressing public information from the proper sources.  This is why we have not given up on processes. 

The author of this article, Adeboro Odunlami is a Legal Officer at Paradigm Initiative