Electronic Frontier Foundation
As debate continues in the U.S. and Europe over how to regulate social media, a number of countries—such as India and Turkey—have imposed stringent rules that threaten free speech, while others, such as Indonesia, are considering them. Now, a new proposal to amend Mauritius’ Information and Communications Technologies Act (ICTA) with provisions to install a proxy server to intercept otherwise secure communications raises serious concerns about freedom of expression in the country.
Mauritius, a democratic parliamentary republic with a population just over 1.2 million, has an Internet penetration rate of roughly 68% and a high rate of social media use. The country’s Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression but, in recent years, advocates have observed a backslide in online freedoms.