Namibia’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Joel Kaapanda has said two laws meant to protect citizens from defamatory content on social media are almost ready.
Kaapanda said the the Electronic Communication and Cybercrime laws will be used to protect citizens from defamatory content being posted on social media networks including Twitter and Facebook.
He said in Windhoek that the ministry together with the Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia were working to finalise a legal framework for electronic communication and cybercrime,
Social media remains a challenge regarding the regulation of ethics evolving around it.
“The strict regulation of social media proved to be challenging as we are guided by constitutional provisions relating to freedom of expression, freedom of the media and privacy,” he said.
Once the laws are passed aggrieved persons will have the right to request the service provider to remove any offensive image or information posted on social media.
Namibia has in recent years been investing in ICT infrastructure such as the West African Cable System (WACS), whose landing point that became operational in 2011.
The country has since created its own Internet Exchange Point (IXP) and introduced mobile 4G services.
The developments brought by WACS are said to have improved Namibia’s international ICT ranking to 105 among 142 countries.
