<s>
This	O
list	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	I-Application
surveillance	I-Application
in	I-Application
Africa	I-Application
provides	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
types	O
and	O
levels	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	O
surveillance	O
that	O
is	O
occurring	O
in	O
countries	O
in	O
Africa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Detailed	O
country	O
by	O
country	O
information	O
on	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	O
surveillance	O
is	O
provided	O
in	O
the	O
Freedom	O
on	O
the	O
Net	O
reports	O
from	O
Freedom	O
House	O
,	O
by	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
,	O
by	O
Reporters	O
Without	O
Borders	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
Country	O
Reports	O
on	O
Human	O
Rights	O
Practices	O
from	O
the	O
U.S.	O
State	O
Department	O
Bureau	O
of	O
Democracy	O
,	O
Human	O
Rights	O
,	O
and	O
Labor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
level	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	O
surveillance	O
in	O
a	O
country	O
is	O
classified	O
in	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
categories	O
:	O
pervasive	O
,	O
substantial	O
,	O
selective	O
,	O
and	O
little	O
or	O
no	O
censorship	O
or	O
surveillance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
classifications	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
classifications	O
and	O
ratings	O
from	O
the	O
Freedom	O
on	O
the	O
Net	O
reports	O
by	O
Freedom	O
House	O
supplemented	O
with	O
information	O
from	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
(	O
ONI	O
)	O
,	O
Reporters	O
Without	O
Borders	O
(	O
RWB	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Country	O
Reports	O
on	O
Human	O
Rights	O
Practices	O
by	O
the	O
U.S.	O
State	O
Department	O
Bureau	O
of	O
Democracy	O
,	O
Human	O
Rights	O
,	O
and	O
Labor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
when	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
categorizes	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
as	O
pervasive	O
in	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
areas	O
(	O
political	O
,	O
social	O
,	O
conflict/security	O
,	O
and	O
Internet	O
tools	O
)	O
for	O
which	O
they	O
test	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Substantial	O
censorship	O
or	O
surveillance	O
:	O
Countries	O
included	O
in	O
this	O
classification	O
are	O
engaged	O
in	O
substantial	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	O
surveillance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
countries	O
where	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
categories	O
are	O
subject	O
to	O
a	O
medium	O
level	O
of	O
filtering	B-Protocol
or	O
many	O
categories	O
are	O
subject	O
to	O
a	O
low	O
level	O
of	O
filtering	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
when	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
categorizes	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
as	O
pervasive	O
or	O
substantial	O
in	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
areas	O
(	O
political	O
,	O
social	O
,	O
conflict/security	O
,	O
and	O
Internet	O
tools	O
)	O
for	O
which	O
they	O
test	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Selective	O
censorship	O
or	O
surveillance	O
:	O
Countries	O
included	O
in	O
this	O
classification	O
were	O
found	O
to	O
practice	O
selective	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	O
surveillance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
not	O
rated	O
in	O
FOTN	O
and	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
categorizes	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
as	O
selective	O
in	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
areas	O
(	O
political	O
,	O
social	O
,	O
conflict/security	O
,	O
and	O
Internet	O
tools	O
)	O
for	O
which	O
they	O
test	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
classification	O
includes	O
countries	O
that	O
are	O
listed	O
as	O
"	O
free	O
"	O
on	O
the	O
Freedom	O
on	O
the	O
Net	O
list	O
from	O
Freedom	O
House	O
,	O
are	O
not	O
listed	O
as	O
"	O
Enemies	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
"	O
by	O
Reporters	O
Without	O
Borders	O
(	O
RWB	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
which	O
no	O
evidence	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
was	O
found	O
by	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
(	O
ONI	O
)	O
in	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
areas	O
(	O
political	O
,	O
social	O
,	O
conflict/security	O
,	O
and	O
Internet	O
tools	O
)	O
for	O
which	O
they	O
test	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
controls	O
such	O
as	O
voluntary	O
filtering	B-Protocol
,	O
self-censorship	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
public	O
or	O
private	O
action	O
to	O
limit	O
child	O
pornography	O
,	O
hate	O
speech	O
,	O
defamation	O
,	O
or	O
theft	O
of	O
intellectual	O
property	O
often	O
exist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2009	O
ONI	O
found	O
no	O
evidence	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
in	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
areas	O
(	O
political	O
,	O
social	O
,	O
conflict/security	O
,	O
and	O
Internet	O
tools	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Internet	O
in	O
Egypt	O
was	O
not	O
directly	O
censored	O
under	O
President	O
Hosni	O
Mubarak	O
,	O
but	O
his	O
regime	O
kept	O
watch	O
on	O
the	O
most	O
critical	O
bloggers	B-Application
and	O
regularly	O
arrested	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bloggers	B-Application
and	O
netizens	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
army	O
have	O
been	O
harassed	O
,	O
threatened	O
,	O
and	O
sometimes	O
arrested	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
(	O
ONI	O
)	O
testing	O
conducted	O
in	O
Ethiopia	O
in	O
September	O
2012	O
found	O
that	O
online	O
political	O
and	O
news	O
content	O
continues	O
to	O
be	O
blocked	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
blogs	O
and	O
websites	O
of	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
recently	O
convicted	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ethiopia	O
has	O
implemented	O
a	O
largely	O
political	O
filtering	B-Protocol
regime	O
that	O
blocks	O
access	O
to	O
popular	O
blogs	O
and	O
the	O
Web	O
sites	O
of	O
many	O
news	O
organizations	O
,	O
dissident	O
political	O
parties	O
,	O
and	O
human	O
rights	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sudan	O
openly	O
acknowledges	O
filtering	B-Protocol
content	O
that	O
transgresses	O
public	O
morality	O
and	O
ethics	O
or	O
threatens	O
order	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Social	O
media	O
and	O
communications	O
apps	O
such	O
as	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
and	O
international	O
blog-hosting	O
services	O
are	O
all	O
freely	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eritrea	O
has	O
not	O
set	O
up	O
a	O
widespread	O
automatic	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
system	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
hesitate	O
to	O
order	O
blocking	O
of	O
several	O
diaspora	O
websites	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
regime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Access	O
to	O
these	O
sites	O
is	O
blocked	O
by	O
two	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
service	O
providers	O
,	O
Erson	O
and	O
Ewan	O
,	O
as	O
are	O
pornographic	O
websites	O
and	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
.	I-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
The	O
government	O
does	O
not	O
employ	O
technical	O
filtering	B-Protocol
or	O
any	O
administrative	O
censorship	O
system	O
to	O
restrict	O
access	O
to	O
political	O
or	O
other	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Social	O
media	O
applications	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
were	O
freely	O
accessible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
this	O
,	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
under	O
the	O
Gaddafi	O
regime	O
had	O
become	O
more	O
selective	O
,	O
focusing	O
on	O
a	O
few	O
political	O
opposition	O
Web	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
relatively	O
lenient	O
filtering	B-Protocol
policy	O
coincided	O
with	O
what	O
was	O
arguably	O
a	O
trend	O
toward	O
greater	O
openness	O
and	O
increasing	O
freedom	O
of	O
the	O
press	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
Reporters	O
Without	O
Borders	O
removed	O
Libya	O
from	O
their	O
list	O
of	O
Internet	O
enemies	O
after	O
a	O
fact-finding	O
visit	O
found	O
no	O
evidence	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
blog	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
promoting	O
religious	O
tolerance	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
discussing	O
the	O
blogger	B-Application
's	O
homosexuality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Morocco	O
's	O
Internet	O
filtration	O
regime	O
is	O
relatively	O
light	O
and	O
focuses	O
on	O
a	O
few	O
blog	O
sites	O
,	O
a	O
few	O
highly	O
visible	O
anonymizers	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
a	O
brief	O
period	O
in	O
May	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
video	O
sharing	O
Web	O
site	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
.	I-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
Morocco	O
has	O
started	O
to	O
prosecute	O
Internet	O
users	O
and	O
bloggers	B-Application
for	O
their	O
online	O
activities	O
and	O
writings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
24	O
October	O
2012	O
police	O
in	O
Bauchi	O
State	O
arraigned	O
civil	O
servant	O
Abbas	O
Ahmed	O
Faggo	O
before	O
a	O
court	O
for	O
allegedly	O
defaming	O
the	O
character	O
of	O
Governor	O
Isa	O
Yuguda	O
after	O
he	O
posted	O
messages	O
on	O
his	O
Facebook	B-Application
account	O
accusing	O
the	O
governor	O
of	O
spending	O
public	O
funds	O
on	O
his	O
son	O
's	O
wedding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Identified	O
in	O
Freedom	O
on	O
the	O
Net	O
2012	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
seven	O
countries	O
that	O
were	O
at	O
particular	O
risk	O
of	O
suffering	O
setbacks	O
related	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
freedom	I-Application
in	O
late	O
2012	O
and	O
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Internet	O
in	O
these	O
countries	O
was	O
described	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
as	O
being	O
a	O
relatively	O
open	O
and	O
unconstrained	O
space	O
for	O
free	O
expression	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
countries	O
also	O
typically	O
featured	O
a	O
repressive	O
environment	O
for	O
traditional	O
media	O
and	O
had	O
recently	O
considered	O
or	O
introduced	O
legislation	O
that	O
would	O
negatively	O
affect	O
Internet	B-Application
freedom	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
in	O
Tunisia	O
significantly	O
decreased	O
in	O
January	O
2011	O
,	O
following	O
the	O
ouster	O
of	O
President	O
Zine	O
El	O
Abidine	O
Ben	O
Ali	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
new	O
acting	O
government	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
removed	O
filters	O
on	O
social	O
networking	O
sites	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
.	I-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
reemerged	O
when	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
January	O
2011	O
the	O
Ben	O
Ali	O
regime	O
had	O
blocked	O
thousands	O
of	O
websites	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
pornography	O
,	O
mail	O
,	O
search	O
engine	O
cached	O
pages	O
,	O
online	O
documents	O
conversion	O
and	O
translation	O
services	O
)	O
and	O
peer-to-peer	O
and	O
FTP	B-Protocol
transfer	O
using	O
a	O
transparent	O
proxy	O
and	O
port	B-Protocol
blocking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
formal	O
government-sponsored	O
filtering	B-Protocol
regime	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
major	O
obstacle	O
to	O
Internet	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
presidential	O
elections	O
in	O
February	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
Uganda	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
(	O
UCC	O
)	O
blocked	O
the	O
anti-government	O
Web	O
site	O
RadioKatwe	O
in	O
the	O
only	O
internationally	O
reported	O
case	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
filtering	I-Protocol
in	O
Uganda	O
to	O
date	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Saharan	O
media	O
outlets	O
and	O
bloggers	B-Application
practice	O
self-censorship	O
on	O
these	O
issues	O
,	O
and	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
reports	O
of	O
government	O
action	O
against	O
them	O
for	O
what	O
they	O
write	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Human	O
rights	O
and	O
Sahrawi	O
bloggers	B-Application
affiliated	O
with	O
leftist	O
political	O
groups	O
assume	O
that	O
authorities	O
closely	O
monitor	O
their	O
activities	O
and	O
feel	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
hide	O
their	O
identities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
access	O
in	O
Algeria	O
is	O
not	O
restricted	O
by	O
technical	O
filtering	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
no	O
government	O
restrictions	O
on	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
Superior	O
Council	O
of	O
Communication	O
(	O
SCC	O
)	O
monitors	O
Internet	O
Web	O
sites	O
and	O
discussion	B-Application
forums	I-Application
to	O
ensure	O
compliance	O
with	O
existing	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Conseil	O
Superieur	O
de	O
l'Audiovisuel	O
et	O
de	O
la	O
Communication	O
(	O
CSAC	O
,	O
Superior	O
Council	O
of	O
Broadcasting	O
and	O
Communication	O
)	O
law	O
stipulates	O
that	O
bloggers	B-Application
must	O
obtain	O
authorization	O
from	O
CSAC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2012	O
CSAC	O
had	O
not	O
refused	O
authorization	O
to	O
any	O
bloggers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
law	O
makes	O
certain	O
types	O
of	O
speech	O
illegal	O
,	O
including	O
incitement	O
of	O
ethnic	O
hatred	O
,	O
violence	O
,	O
or	O
civil	B-Application
war	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ongoing	O
violence	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
civil	B-Application
war	I-Application
in	O
Somalia	O
has	O
and	O
continues	O
to	O
dramatically	O
affect	O
the	O
media	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Political	O
content	O
is	O
not	O
censored	O
,	O
and	O
neither	O
bloggers	B-Application
nor	O
content	O
creators	O
are	O
targeted	O
for	O
their	O
online	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
a	O
South	O
African	O
"	O
sex	O
blogger	B-Application
"	O
was	O
arrested	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
reports	O
that	O
the	O
government	O
monitors	O
e-mail	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Internet	O
chat	O
rooms	O
.	O
</s>
