Abstract
This report introduces findings from ten digital rights landscape country reports on Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Cameroon. They analyse how the openings and closings of online civic space affect citizens’ digital rights. They show that: (1) when civic space closes offline citizens often respond by opening civic space online; (2) when civic space opens online governments often take measures to close online space; and (3) the resulting reduction in digital rights makes it impossible to achieve the kind of inclusive governance defined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We know far more about openings and closings of online civic space in the global North than we do in the global South. What little we do know about Africa is mainly about a single country, a single event, or single technology. For the first time, these reports make possible a comparative analysis of openings and closings of online civic space in Africa. They document 65 examples of the use of digital technologies to open online civic space and 115 examples of techniques used to close online civic space. The five tactics used most often to close online civic space in Africa are digital surveillance, disinformation, internet shutdowns, legislation, and arrests for online speech. The reports show clearly that any comprehensive analysis of digital rights requires consideration of the wider political, civic space, and technological contexts. We argue that countering the threats to democracy and digital rights discussed in the reports requires new evidence, awareness, and capacity. We propose applied research to build capacity in each country to effectively monitor, analyse, and counter the insidious impact of surveillance and disinformation; and a programme to raise awareness and mobilise opinion to open civic space and improve citizens’ ability to exercise, defend, and expand their digital rights.
Highlights
Civic space remains open in only two of Africa’s 54 countries,1 according to CIVICUS (2020)
We imagined that our contribution would mainly illustrate the range of creative ways that citizens have responded to closing civic space offline by opening civic space online
We found nearly twice as many examples of the use of digital tactics to close civic space online as we found of the use of digital tactics to open civic space online
Summary
Civic space remains open in only two of Africa’s 54 countries, according to CIVICUS (2020). This report presents the literature review used by the African Digital Rights Network to provide the conceptual framing for the commissioning of digital rights landscape country reports on ten African countries It presents preliminary findings and makes tentative recommendations designed to enhance the ability of citizens to exercise, defend, and expand their digital rights. Civic space refers to the public places where citizens can freely exercise their human rights. This includes the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Civic space is crucial for any open and democratic country in which citizens and civil society are free to hold powerholders accountable, draw attention to neglected issues, and foster inclusive decision-making at all levels (Kode 2018). Many anglophone Cameroonians feel sidelined by the francophone regime, which has led to protests and even separatist movements in recent years
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