[UgaBYTES] Study: Ethiopia only sub-Sahara Africa nation that filters the Net

[Sarah mpagi]

Thanks Sandra for sharing this interesting and unrealistic world where many
people live. Imagine going to a cafe and one is faced with a couple of
interrogations; one might even fail to get the right information needed at
that material time for fear to navigate through different websites because
of security issues that are not intended.


Sarah



On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 3:52 AM, Sandra Nassali <snassali at ugabytes.org>wrote:

> Though various African countries monitor and restrict Internet access in
> some way, Ethiopia is the only country with a technical filtering regime in
> the sub-Saharan region, according to a report by OpenNet Initiative, a
> collaborative partnership between Harvard, Toronto, Cambridge and Oxford
> universities.
>
> The study, conducted in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe between 2008
> and 2009, found that though sub-Saharan Africa has a history of controlling
> freedom of expression, Ethiopia was the only country filtering the
> Internet.
>
> he research cites sporadic IP blocking of sites, rather than more
> sophisticated URL blocking. Most filtering targets political content.
> However, many countries in the region also practice other forms of
> censorship such as arresting or threatening bloggers, online journalists
> and
> Internet users.
>
> "Ethiopia's filtering regime targets independent media, blogs, and
> political
> reform and human rights sites; many prominent sites that are critical of
> the
> Ethiopian government remain accessible, while some blocked sites seem
> harmless," said the report.
>
> According to the study, various blogs as well as the Nazret Web site, which
> aggregates Ethiopian content, are blocked. The sites of opposition
> political
> parties, minority ethnic groups, independent news organizations and
> Ethiopia-specific human rights organizations appeared to be a priority for
> blocking, though many international sites containing comparable information
> (such as CNN, Voice of America, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
> International) were not blocked.
>
> To ensure compliance with government directives, the Ethiopia government
> restricts provision of Internet access to the state-owned Ethiopian
> Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) and the Ethiopian Telecommunication
> Agency (ETA). The ETA grants the ETC a monopoly license as Ethiopia's sole
> ISP (Internet service provider) and seller of domain names under the
> country
> code top-level domain, ".et." Internet cafés and other resellers of
> Internet
> services must be licensed by the ETA and must purchase their access through
> the ETC.
>
> "In late December 2006, ETA gave a directive requiring Internet cafés to
> log
> the names and addresses of individual customers, apparently as part of an
> effort to track users who engaged in illegal activities online. The lists
> are to be turned over to the police, and Internet café owners who fail to
> register users face prison," the report said.
>
> Zimbabwe has been singled out for "sub-Saharan Africa's most extensive"
> surveillance regimes.
>
> "The Zimbabwe Post and Telecommunications Act of 2000 allows the government
> to monitor e-mail usage and requires ISPs to supply information to
> government officials when requested," the report said.
>
> Due to the political problems that have bedeviled Zimbabwe, the government
> strengthened its Internet surveillance policies with the Communications
> Bill
> of 2006, which established a telecommunications agency called the
> Monitoring
> and Interception of Communications Center. It also requires
> telecommunications and Internet service providers to ensure that their
> systems are technically capable of monitoring.
>
> After the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City many governments enacted
> antiterrorism laws, and in some cases the laws were used to suppress
> freedom
> of expression. Dissident voices were cited for terrorism or treason.
>
> "The initial draft of Uganda's Interception of Communications Bill of 2007
> allowed phone tapping and other forms of electronic surveillance on people
> suspected of committing terrorism or crimes against the State without
> requiring a court order," said Rebekah Heacock, the report author.
>
> In Nigeria, the Communications Act 2003 gives the government the authority
> to require people to supply any information for the purposes of national
> security. Punishment for refusal includes a year in prison and a fine of
> US$676.
>
> The report concludes that although the region does not have widespread
> Internet filtering, it does not necessarily indicate that the countries are
> taking an intentionally open approach to the Internet.
>
> *computerworldafrica*
>
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>
> Sandra Nassali
> Community Facilitator
> UgaBYTES Initiative (www.ugabytes.org)
> Telecentre.org  (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
> Plot 2218 Ggaba Road,
> 2nd Floor Kangave House
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> Email  snassali at ugabytes.org
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-- 
Nalwoga Sarah Mpagi
Program Officer
Knowledge Management & Research
UgaBYTES Initiative
Plot 2218 Ggaba Road, Kabalagala
2nd Floor, Kangave House
P.O. Box 6081 Kampala, Uganda
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skype: sarah.nalwoga.mpagi