Hey guys,

This week

I reached out to some of our Ugandan local partners on another mailing list in the event this would happen.

The good thing is that there are free tools to circumvent such similar violations on the of freedom of expression. Please feel free to reach out to reach out to Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline , through which activists, independent media, and civil society organizations across the globe can get real-time, direct technical assistance and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Last Friday (12th) our 24 hour Digital Security Helpline and some of our local partners detected a minor outage that lasted not more than an hour and this made us prepare for any eventuality.

This is part of an unfortunate and growing trend. Rather than an exception, internet shutdowns are becoming the norm as more governments order the suspension or throttling of entire networks. Often justified for public safety purposes, shutdowns instead cut off access to vital information and emergency services, plunging whole societies into darkness.

This is despite previous research showing that Internet Shutdowns and state violence Go hand in hand, and this is something Access Now and local partners documented while dealing with Internet Shutdowns in Egypt, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Burundi, among other places outside the African Union member states.

A growing body of jurisprudence declares shutdowns to violate international law. U.N. and regional human rights experts issued an historic statement declaring that internet “kill switches” can never be justified under international human rights law, even in times of conflict. General Comment 34 of the Human Rights Committee, the official interpreter of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasizes that restrictions on speech online must be strictly necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate purpose.

In times of shutdown, it is incumbent on the entire tech and telecom sector to join together to assert the rights of their users to freedom of expression, access to information, and assembly. Only by presenting a united front, and calling out the disproportionate and harmful impacts of government-ordered shutdowns, will the sector begin to mitigate and eventually prevent this abusive tactic.

Please feel free to enlist the help of Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline, through which activists, independent media, and civil society organizations across the globe can get real-time, direct technical assistance and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These services, include:

Rapid response on digital security incidents
Personalized recommendations, instruction, and follow-up support on digital security issues
Help assessing risks and creating organizational or community security strategies
Guidance on security practices and tools for organizations, communities, groups, and individuals
Support for securing technical infrastructure, websites, and social media against attacks
Referrals, capacity-building, in-person consultations, and training
Education materials in multiple languages

--
Best Regards,

Ephraim Percy Kenyanito

Sub-Saharan Africa Policy Analyst

Access Now | accessnow.org

@ekenyanito
PGP: E6BA8DC1

Fingerprint: B0FA394AF73DEB7AA1FDC7360CFED26DE6BA8DC1

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On 18 Feb 2016 12:21, "Ebele Okobi via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Was it announced as a temporary block, or an ongoing block? If the former, did they announce a date by which it would end? And have they simply asked operators to throttle access? I’m curious w/r to the democratic process they invoked, and the basis they used.

Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa

m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315

2 Stephen St | London | W1T 1AN

ebeleokobi@fb.com

From: "Juliet Nanfuka." <juliet@cipesa.org>
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 9:10 AM
To: Ebele Okobi <ebeleokobi@fb.com>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] social media in UG blocked on election day

Hello Ebele,

There was a televised interview with the commission earlier.

On Feb 18, 2016 12:04 PM, "Ebele Okobi" <ebeleokobi@fb.com> wrote:

Have they made a public statement?

Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa

m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315

2 Stephen St | London | W1T 1AN

ebeleokobi@fb.com

From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+ebeleokobi=fb.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke> on behalf of "Juliet Nanfuka. via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Reply-To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 8:59 AM
To: Ebele Okobi <ebeleokobi@fb.com>
Cc: "Juliet Nanfuka." <juliet@cipesa.org>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] social media in UG blocked on election day

Hello Riva,

Yes were have been following the developments and have access to social media.

Blockage has been confirmed by the Uganda Communications Commission.

Kind regards,
Juliet

CIPESA colleagues, are you able to access social media?

http://www.theinsider.ug/uganda-blocks-facebook-twitter-on-election-day-as-ballots-go-missing/

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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.

KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.