By The Citizen
Unlimited freedom is certain to breed unfairness
to some, which is why we agree that there cannot be anything like
absolute press freedom. However, if applied responsibly, press freedom
is sure to stimulate political, social and economic development.
Last Sunday, Tanzanian human rights activists,
journalists and other media stakeholders marked the World Press Freedom
Day amid growing threat to free press in our country—thanks to the
government’s move to criminalise defamation under the much-debated
Cybercrime Bill which the Parliament passed into law recently.
The government claims that the new Cybercrimes Act
aims to protect users who have access to mobile phones, computers and
related devices. However, what the Parliament has passed is something
akin to Cybersecurity law which makes defamation a crime for online
users.
Under this new law, a person who, for instance,
distributes the so-called offensive images like nude pictures shall be
jailed. Defamation or libel will now be criminal if the President will
endorse the law the Parliament passed recently. Yet, the new Act doesn’t
elaborate what it is meant by offensive or illegal images.
Section 7 (2b) states that the receiver of
information deemed illegal shall be arrested and prosecuted for
committing a criminal offence. Now if someone you know (or even a number
whose subscriber you don’t know) sends you an “illegal” image on
WhatsApp, you will be criminally liable!
Internet service providers
Again, Section 21(1) requires that Internet
service providers to give all details of their clients to the State if
it so demands. In other words, this law allows the State to police
Internet users.
In the civilised world, the government is there
to protect the citizens, so how come we enact an Act that allows the
government access to every detail of Internet users?
Constitutionally, this power should be granted to
the court—the High Court, to be precise. But, unfortunately, at the time
when we claimed to be writing a new constitution, the Parliament has
moved to pass an unconstitutional law. In advanced democracies, before
the government demands and accesses information on someone, it has to
fully establish that person poses a threat to national security or has
information that undermines national security.
After establishing that, then the court of law has
to be fully satisfied before issuing any order which grants the
government to lay its hands on data of an Internet user.
Our concern is that if this law is implemented the
without some constructive amendments, it will pose a serious threat to
free expression and put Tanzania on the list of repressive regimes of
the world. It is not fair Tanzania to have such a law at the time when
the international community is pushing for repeal of laws that
criminilises defamation.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights adopted a resolution on repealing criminal defamation laws in the
continent a few years ago, saying: “Criminal defamation laws constitute
a serious interference with freedom of expression and impede the role
of the media as a watchdog, preventing media practitioners (from)
practising their profession without fear and in good faith
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