Hello All,

As described in the introductory email yesterday , we're glad to kick off discussions on this important topic, and look forward to feedback from the wealth of knowledge and experience here.

We imagine there's a lot to say on the Status of Internet Freedom in African Countries, but let's start with the summary of Freedom House's 2013 Freedom on the Net report, which shows the status in some African countries - Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. As seen in the attached image (below), Sudan and Ethiopia are not free; Kenya and South Africa are free; while the rest are partly free. You can also see an interactive map of African (and other countries) and details of the measurement at http://freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-net.

With this background, we'd like to start Week 1 by asking for your views on issues of online freedom of expression. However, we'll also look at themes such as Internet Intermediary Liability; censorship and surveillance incidents; regulations, laws and policies governing freedom of expression online; and perspectives on the African Convention on Cyber Security. We invite you to look at the questions below, and please feel free to answer them directly or speak generally to the issues of the week.

We would like to here from you on:-

1. What are the major issues surrounding online freedom of expression in Africa or in your country?
   
2. What convergences and tensions exist between freedom of expression and privacy?
3. What are the implications of approaching the balance between freedom of expression and privacy from a freedom of expression–centric point of view? 
4. What actions can governments, civil society, media and the private sector take to balance privacy with freedom of expression online? 
5. What is the best way to empower users to stay safe online while protecting their freedom of expression?

Thank you for your contribution to this 4-week discussion, and please note that apart from the general introductory eMails and summaries we provide, we are reading through every reply and will provide a general summary at the end of the week.

The summaries from the 4 weeks will feed into the final report which will be made available on PIN and CIPESA websites, and will also be shared with this list. For more information on the discussions, please feel free to refer to http://www.cipesa.org/2013/11/online-discussions-on-promoting-internet-freedoms-in-africa/

We look forward to your thoughts on the questions above… and specifically, we'd like to know what you think about the attached map regarding the assessment of African countries in the 2013 Freedom on the Net report.

Best regards,

--
Lillian Nalwoga
CIPESA
www.cipesa.org

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