By Daniel Mwesigwa At its founding, in the late 80s, the internet promised to democratize information, level uneven grounds, and the destroy barriers associated with distance, space, and time. Through promoting communication, coordination, integration at a pace and scale beyond
Artificial intelligence: Where is Africa in the conversation?
By Chenai Chair Africa continues to work towards addressing the internet access and use divide. However, we now need to find a seat at the table of emerging data-driven solutions. These technologies offer the potential to make life easier and
FABRICS, Emerging AI Readiness
Recent · FABRICS, Emerging AI Readiness, by Alex Comninos and Martin Konzett, First Edition, 2018, ISBN 978-3-200-05921-4 A lot of industries seem to be overwhelmed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Some proponents dream of utopias, while some opponents
Internet governance and net neutrality
By Oyindamola Gbemisola Sogunro The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) defines internet governance as the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures and programmes that shape the evolution
Social media taxes and their impact on the digital economy
By Sandra Chimpala Negative. That’s the ultimate effect in one word! Social media taxes are taxes charged for the use of social media platforms. We have seen their implementation in a few African countries, including Uganda ($0.05 per day), Tanzania
Has the four-year evolution of South Africa’s Cybercrimes Bill delivered the internet we want?
by Karabo Rajuili What is the internet we want? This was a question posed by one of the panels at the 7th African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF), held from the 4-6 November 2018 in Khartoum, Sudan. The question is increasingly
Fake news and vague laws: Online content regulation in Africa
By Rebecca Ryakitimbo Africa’s quest to counter fake news, which could also be described as a “fear of criticism”, has become increasingly problematic in light of the recent creation of vague laws to address this challenge. The big men of
Data Protection within the Digital Age
By Bob Aston, Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) In 2014, the African Union Commission (AUC) adopted the Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection in order to provide fundamental principles and guidelines, ensure the effective protection of personal
What kind of cybersecurity do we want in Africa?
By Richard Mulonga There is a wave of cybersecurity and data protection regulations being introduced in a number of African countries. Some countries have already enacted these internet laws, while others are in the process of introducing the regulations. Notably,
Mainstreaming economics into ICT policy conversations in Africa
By Babatunde Okunoye Something historic happened by the Nile earlier this month. From 4-6 November 2018, at Corinthia Hotel Khartoum by the banks of that gargantuan and historic river which traverses the African continent, stakeholders from across the continent and