No need to stifle social media

Should social media be regulated? The ruling party has made its intention clear for government to establish a ministry of cyber security to monitor social media, among others. Although this resolution was not adopted at the just-ended Swapo congress, it was nevertheless tabled and deferred to an extraordinary congress, which is likely to take place next year. We think this is a very bad idea and takes away the ordinary citizen's right to free speech. The draft policy also raises more serious concerns over access to information. Interestingly politicians are taking their time in enforcing the access to information legislation. Yes, we are aware that the advent of social media has given rise to uprisings against governments with the Arab Spring a typical example. We have also seen instances where societies erupt into violence and hooliganism merely because of social media posts. However, no one is above the law as we are all accountable for our actions. Our take is that anyone who breaks the law should be prosecuted to the full extent of that law. There is adequate legislation at the moment that allows anyone to lay charges of crimen injuria against those abusing social media. It must be clear that we are in no way advocating the use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms for unlawful activity, however, limitations to freedom of expression will not be good for our country's democracy. By the way, experts have already criticised the Electronic Transactions and Cybercrime Bill, which is still riddled with questionable legal provisions and outdated content. Everyone is sceptical of the government's motives at the moment and the authorities should instead look at strengthening legislation around other pertinent issues such as the fight against corruption instead of getting nosey around social media. There must be political will to have an independent agency that should be able to investigate and act against high-level corruption in this country. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) must be given more teeth to tackle corruption in the public service by promoting a culture of moral and ethical behaviour.