Some proposed amendments to the information and communications law in Mauritius have sparked debates regarding censorship of social media networks.
The Mauritius’ Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) has published a public consultation document on the control of social networks.
The regulator proposes the creation of a committee to analyse content and an enforcement unit to implement the committee’s decisions. The move is meant to regulate the use and fight against the abuse and misuse of social networks.
Social media users have criticised what they termed as “abuse” from the authorities with some saying it amounts to spying on the people.
The ICTA has sought to reassure the population, explaining that online messaging applications like WhatsApp will not be affected by the proposed amendments.
The regulator also says it never intended to regulate the use of online messaging applications “because these types of communication are private in nature, unlike public posts on social media platforms”.
ICTA has already sought the advice of Facebook’s South Africa office to get its opinion on the proposal and to recommend alternative measures.
A total of 2,051 incidents were reported on the Mauritian Cybercrime Online Reporting System (MAUCORS) from January 2020 to January 2021, according to the ICTA.
Members of the public have until 5 May to submit their comments about the proposal.
Source: BBC
