Check-in and access this session from the IGF Schedule.

IGF 2021 WS #157
SAVE THE INTERNET FROM GOVERNMENT ATTACK.

    Organizer 1: Moses Owiny, Centre for Multilateral Affairs
    Organizer 2: Sheetal Kumar, Global Partners Digital
    Organizer 3: Peace Oliver Amuge, Women of Uganda Network( WOUGNET)

    Speaker 1: Moses Owiny, Civil Society, African Group
    Speaker 2: Sheetal Kumar, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
    Speaker 3: Peace Oliver Amuge, Civil Society, African Group

    Moderator

    Venance Leonard Jeston NTAHONDI, Government, African Group

    Online Moderator

    Moses Owiny, Civil Society, African Group

    Rapporteur

    Moses Owiny, Civil Society, African Group

    Format

    Birds of a Feather - Auditorium - 90 Min

    Policy Question(s)

    Data governance and trust, globally and locally: What is needed to ensure that existing and future national and international data governance frameworks are effective in mandating the responsible and trustworthy use of data, with respect for privacy and other human rights?
    Protecting consumer rights: What regulatory approaches are/could be effective in upholding consumer rights, offering adequate remedies for rights violations, and eliminating unfair and deceptive practices from the part of Internet companies?

    Additional Policy Questions Information: In Tanzania specifically, Internet governance needs to be better clarified and defined. In 2020, the government exercised complete powers on data and content. Whoever had to write content on Cpovid-19 and share it to the social media had to be arrested by the coercive organs of the government.

    In my session proposal, the agenda of who governs the internet and how content should be monitored is at the central tenet. The State of Tanzania has been categorized as an authoritarian state, especially during the leadership of John Pombe Magufuli who died earlier this year. His government believed in the idea of no covid-19 in reality, that even if covid was real, it could have not attacked the body of Christ(referring to himself as a believer in Christ. As the consequence, Covid 19 believed to have killed many citizens due to limited access to information about the pandemic. Tanzania continued to repress freedom due to fact that journalists, human rights defenders coalition organizations, media houses, and other independent social media platforms, were harassed and banned from exercising advocacy. Due to this internet communication silence, Covid-19 has killed a high number of people, as it is said, including John Pombe Magufuli himself.
    On this basis, the agenda on the limit of powers over the internet by the governments has to be discussed and come up with the policy on data and content protection for users rights regulations.

    SDGs

    16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions


    Targets: Due to weak government institutions, the presidential institution has overweighed other state organs like the judiciary and parliament. As a result, freedom of expression has been muzzled. It is through this session, states shall be reminded to assess and re-arrange the way they do things concerning freedom of expression.

    Description:

    In Tanzania, during the covid 19 pandemics in 2020, the government and its telecom regulatory authority, repressed freedom of expression. President Magufuli had ordered the ministry of communication not to communicate about the height of the covid 19 spread. As the consequence, a high number of people lost their lives. Tanzania continued to repress the freedom of expression by arresting journalists, civil society experts, human rights advocates. It is through IGF 2021, internet policy should be drafted at the international level and limits of governments on the internet should be marked so as to protect internet users, data, and contents from government suppression.

    Expected Outcomes

    At the end of this session,
    1.it is expected that responsible state behavior on data and content governance should not undermine and intimidate internet users in their respective countries.
    2.Freedom of expression has to be the right of civil society, human rights advocates, media houses, and other social media platforms. By so doing, lives can be saved through raising awareness by the free freedom of expression.
    3.Increased awareness on freedom of expression
    4.Increased capacity building on civil society and other stakeholders on internet governance.

    Speakers will be given time to engage and familiarize themselves with the subject content. After the proposal assessment is done, this topic will be shared with other speakers and discussants to bring the discussion to the very expected outcome. However, kind of lecture, questions, and answers related to internet governance shall be used in the facilitation of this proposal. This session is will take place both online and on-site, while on-site, the online connection will be done and both online and on-site will be benefiting from the submission.

    Online Participation



    Usage of IGF Official Tool.