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A Supreme Court Judgement deems the offence of causing annoyance in the ICT Act to be “hopelessly vague”

05/06/2021 By christina Leave a Comment

On 27 May 2021, Supreme Court judges D. Chan Kan Cheong and K.D. Gunesh-Balaghee delivered their judgement in the case of SEEGUM J v THE STATE OF MAURITIUS 2021 SCJ 162.

Seegum had been prosecuted before the Intermediate Court on 5 counts for the offence of “using an information and communication service for the purpose of causing annoyance”, in breach of sections 46(h)(ii) and 47 of the ACT Act. Two counts were dismissed and the trial had proceeded on three counts all related to “wilfully and unlawfully using an information and communication service for the purpose of causing annoyance to another person” on a Facebook forum under Section 46(h)(ii) of the ICTA, which read as follows at the time of the alledged offence:

“46. Offences Any person who -(…)
(h) uses an information and communication service, including telecommunication service, –
(ii) for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to any person;
(…)
shall commit an offence.”

Seegum had been found guilty by the Intermediate Court and fined to Rs 15,000 for each of the 3 counts (total of Rs 45,000). He appealed against the judgement on several grounds, one of them being that “that section 46(h)(ii) of the ICTA breaches section 10(4) of the Constitution”. That section of the Constitution states that:

(4) No person shall be held to be guilty of a criminal offence on account of any act or omission that did not, at the time it took place, constitute such an offence, and no penalty shall be imposed for any criminal offence that is severer in degree or description than the maximum penalty that might have imposed for that offence at the time when it was committed.

Seegum’s counsel argued that “causing annoyance” suffers from vagueness in the formulation of the ICT Act and causes uncertainty. It does not allow the ordinary citizen to determine which conduct may be considered as causing annoyance and whether a particular conduct will fall within the purview of section 46(h)(ii) of the ICT Act.

In their statement, the two Supreme Court judges upheld this argument, recalling that a number of past cases cases have allowed courts (in Mauritius and elsewhere) to reaffirm the well established principle that criminal laws must be certain and formulated with sufficient precision to enable the citizen to regulate his conduct. They write that: “for a criminal law to pass the test of constitutionality under section 10(4), it must be so worded that it allows the ordinary citizen to determine what constitutes an offence and what acts and omissions will render him liable to prosecution.”

The judges proceed to compare the initial version of section 46(h)(ii) of the ICTA to similar provisions of the law in the UK and India, namely section 66A of the Information Technology Act 2000 of India and section 127(2) of the UK Communications Act, 2003. They find a marked difference between the Mauritian provision and the English and Indian provisions. In both the UK and in India, there should be evidence that the offender knew that his/her message was based on information he/she knew to be false or made persistent use of electronic means to send the message. The elements of falsity and persistent use “in the English and Indian law make the offence more objectively ascertainable by the Courts and by the citizens.”

Section 46(h)(ii) certainly offers no clear distinction between a conduct which is innocuously annoying and one which is criminally reprehensible. It lacks precision and clarity and is “hopelessly vague”. Leaving it up entirely to the Courts to determine which conduct is criminal on a case to case basis, with no discernible objective criteria, is giving a too wide discretion to the Courts and creating uncertainty in the law.

The judgement thus basically deemed that the version of article 46(h)(ii) of ICT Act to be unconstitutional.

The judges do specify that they do not make any pronouncement about the constitutionality of the redrafted version of the section (done in 2018). But this will undoubtedly create a precedent for any new cases being judged under the redrafted section of the ICT Act and it further weakens the justifications for the ICTA proposal for regulation using a technical toolset to intercept all internet traffic in Mauritius, a proposal which was itself predicated on that very section.

It is useful to recall that the new version of Section 46(h)(ii) of the ICTA now reads as follows:

(ii) which is likely to cause or causes annoyance, humiliation, inconvenience, distress or anxiety to that person; (the changes are in bold )

It seems to me that this new formulation is even more subjective than the former version which was the basis for the Supreme Court case. The 2018 updated formulation creates even more uncertainty and imprecision in defining the nature of the offence as it introduces the phrase “which is likely to cause…”, meaning that the impact of the offence may be hypothetical, rather than real. It also adds new terms: “humiliation” and “distress”, which are not well-defined either.

I may be wrong but such a judgement from no less than the Supreme Court further diminishes the likelihood for the amendments proposed in the ICTA Consultation to be given the go ahead. And this is good news!

The proposed amendments to the ICT Act to regulate social media in democratic Mauritius entail the risk of creating a surveillance state

22/04/2021 By christina Leave a Comment

On 14 April 2021, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) released a Consultation Paper on proposed amendments to the ICT Act for regulating the use and addressing the abuse and misuse of Social Media in Mauritius. In a nutshell, the paper makes a proposal to amend the law so that all internet communication would have to pass through a centralised proxy server managed by the agency and citizens will have to install a digital self-signed certificate on their devices to allow the server to access, decrypt, segregate social media traffic for analysis for investigative purposes. The technical toolset would be managed by an Enforcement Unit within the ICTA and there would be a National Digital Ethics Committee to decide on how to deal with “illegal and harmful content”.

There are numerous issues with this proposal. The most salient one being that the mechanism would make Mauritius a blanket surveillance state, which is incompatible with the concept of democracy. In fact, no other democracy in the world uses such a blanket system to intercept citizens’ communication in order to regulate social media. Below is a more detailed analysis of the content.

– What is the context for the proposed amendments?
– Preliminary comment about the context
– What are those proposed amendments to the ICT Act?
– Comment about the philosophy underlying the proposal
– What does the Constitution say?
– What are other democratic states doing or trying to do?
– Other key questions posed by the proposed amendments
– What are potential alternatives to the proposed amendments?
– Conclusion

What is the context for the proposed amendments?

There is a perceived need for regulation of social media in Mauritius. The stated objective is to combat illegal and harmful content (and comment) in a way that is not dependent on international social media companies. These platforms are deemed to be not sufficiently responsive to requests from the authorities in terms of:

time taken to respond,
community standards which are not as strict as our domestic laws, and
the Creole language which the platform moderators do not understand.

The paper states that a “minority of individuals or organised groups” are at fault and that “The issue at hand is when these abuses, even though perpetrated by few individuals/groups, go viral, the damage created is very far reaching.”

Preliminary comment about the context

A first comment is that a list of concrete examples is needed here to gauge the extent of the problem at the national level. The list should include detailed information about the “very far reaching damage” created. The consultation paper does include a table listing the number of incidents reported to the Mauritian Cybercrime Online Reporting System (MAUCORS).

We would however need more details on the following (inter alia):

the investigation process for the incidents reported,
the actions taken by the authorities in all of these cases,
whether these incidents were dealt with locally by law or reported to the social media platforms,
the results obtained.
An in-depth analysis of the above would be needed. This would enable a more objective evaluation of the proportionality of the proposed mechanism with respect to the extent of the problem to be addressed. In a nutshell, the question is: How big is the problem of misuse and abuse of social media really in the country that warrants such far-reaching measures?

What are those proposed amendments to the ICT Act?

ICTA is proposing the creation of:

a National Digital Ethics Committee (NDEC) as the decision-making body on the contents. The key mandate of the NDEC would be to:

investigate on illegal and harmful content on its own or through interaction with other stakeholders already involved in national security, crime investigation, detection and prevention or through complaints received;

a Technical Enforcement Unit to enforce the technical measures as directed by the NDEC.
a technical toolset to be deployed whereby internet users in Mauritius will have to use a local proxy server as intermediary and will be asked to install a self-signed digital certificate allowing them to be accepted as intermediary by the browser or the app, thereby bypassing the https protocol. The stated objective is to allow the proxy server to:

segregate traffic to and from social media sites,
decrypt such information
analyse and store data for investigations purposes

Comment about the philosophy underlying the proposal

The adjective “harmful” should be defined clearly with a list of all types of content and the criteria which will be used to classify such content as harmful. Otherwise, this will inevitably lead to questions in the public’s mind about what is allowed and what is not allowed. In other words, the “rules of the game” should be clearly spelt out in advance.
There is also an inherent risk of potential abuse and misuse by authorities and parties involved in the mechanism if the term “harmful” is not clearly defined. An important matter such as this cannot be open to interpretation, bearing in mind that the principle of potential “alternance”of parties in power is still valid in Mauritius and that there is always a risk of petty power games as a result.
The adjective “illegal” is clearer as this relates to the laws of the country, which are enacted by parliament, interpreted by courts of justice and implemented by policy-makers.
More importantly, the main issue with this proposal is a potential conflict with section 12 of the Constitution as highlighted in the paper itself.

What does the Constitution say?

As a reminder, Section 12 of the Constitution of Mauritius states that:

12. Protection of freedom of expression

(1) Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference, and freedom from interference with his correspondence.

(2) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this section to the extent that the law in question makes provision— (a) in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health;

(b) for the purpose of protecting the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons or the private lives of persons concerned in legal proceedings, preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, maintaining the authority and independence of the Courts, or regulating the technical administration or the technical
operation of telephony, telegraphy, posts, wireless broadcasting, television, public exhibitions or public entertainments; or

(c) for the imposition of restrictions upon public officers, except so far as that provision or, as the case may be, the thing done under its authority is shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society

This section thus states that there can be no interference in our communications except with our consent and except for specific provisions involving public defence, safety, order, morality and health, reputation, privacy, courts authority, technical administration of telecoms and civil service restrictions. BUT, the last line puts everything in perspective as the provisions should be “justifiably reasonable in a democratic society” .

Unfortunately, the proposed amendments to the ICT Act do not seem “justifiably reasonable in a democratic society“.

The proposal is tantamount to blanket surveillance on the citizens of Mauritius without judicial oversight. No warrant would be needed to spy on specific individuals. ALL citizens’ communication would be interfered with in a blanket manner. The proportionality test is here crucial to determine whether such a surveillance system is really warranted in a democratic society like ours. Does this pass the balance of risks/benefits? Fundamentally, this proposal seems to contradict the philosophy of the Data Protection Act which aims to protect citizens’ private data and which was adopted in 2017 (and modelled on the EU GDPR).

What are other democratic states doing or trying to do?

In fact, we do not know of any other democratic state which is using such a system. This would be a first in the world, in the negative sense of the word. As a result, there is a high probability that Mauritius will tumble down in world freedom rankings.

In all the democratic states cited in the consultation paper, the responsibility for moderation and removal of illegal content is or will be vested with the social media platforms (when requested by governments).

In Germany, the Network Enforcement Act has forced platforms such as Facebook to employ many more moderators for the country and the law provides that the data should be stored by the platforms for only up to 10 weeks (no moratorium is provided by the ICTA for Mauritius).
In the UK, Ofcom has been tasked with the regulation of social media and the Chief Executive states on the official website that “We won’t censor the web or social media. Free expression is the lifeblood of the internet and it’s central to our democracy, values and modern society.” and “We won’t be responsible for regulating or moderating individual pieces of online content. The Government’s intention is that online platforms should have appropriate systems and processes in place to protect users; and that Ofcom should take action against them if they fall short. We’ll focus particular attention on tackling the most serious harms, including illegal content and harms affecting children.“
India has recently introduced new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules which require “significant” social media intermediaries (based on the number of users) to have a local representation with a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person and a Resident Grievance Officer and the platforms would need to publish regular reports about compliance with a Code of Ethics.
There have also been intense debates in all cases and some parts of legislations proposed had to be reviewed or are still being reviewed with no successful model emerging for the time being. For instance, large sections of the French Loi Avia were deemed anti-constitutional by the Senate and had to be reviewed.

The key take away here is that State agencies in democratic countries are not endowing themselves with any technical capacity to interfere, intercept and remove any content on social media in comparison with the Mauritian ICTA proposal.

I am not an expert in technology but I assume that the mechanism for intercepting, decrypting and re-encrypting social media traffic requires enormous technical capabilities given the enormous amounts of data (photos, videos, livestreams, etc.) generated daily. It is also very much a moving target because nothing can prevent any social media network from changing some implementation details which might make the system ineffective. Anyway, just by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), anyone can bypass the system.

What are potential alternatives to the proposed amendments?

The last question in the consultation paper asks citizens if they think that local courts of justice should be empowered to “impose sentences (which include banning use of social media) on persons convicted of offences relating to misuse of social media tools”. How far has this been explored?
What other preventive measures have been explored (education, sensitisation, digital literacy, etc.)?
What about using our diplomatic connections at the regional level to enter into negotiation with the social media platforms in order to improve their responsiveness? (eg. AU, SADC)

Conclusion

It is a positive sign that this is at the stage of a public consultation, thus requiring inputs from Mauritian citizens as individuals or groups, hopefully shaping the outcome of the final decision to amend legislation or not. In the same spirit, the next phase of the process should be transparent, that is, it is expected that there be a public report about inputs received and how these inputs are tackled by the ICTA and any other authority involved in the process.

The present proposed amendments do not seem reasonable in terms of the proportionality of the measures with respect to the problem to be tackled and puts Mauritius at risk of becoming a surveillance state with potential abuse and misuse of the technical toolset against its very own citizens, rather than to protect them.

It is thus very important that concerned citizens send their inputs to

Click here to read my final submission to the ITCA in the form of an Analytical Paper

Journée internationale de la langue et de la culture créole : L’introduction du créole au Parlement fait débat

29/10/2020 By christina Leave a Comment

https://defimedia.info/journee-internationale-de-la-langue-et-de-la-culture-creole-lintroduction-du-creole-au-parlement-fait-debat

Journée internationale de la langue et de la culture créole : L’introduction du créole au Parlement fait débat
28 OCTOBRE 2020

PAR ADILA MOHIT-SAROAR
Contact:

Depuis 1983, le 28 octobre a été décrété Journée internationale de la langue et de la culture. Si Maurice avait accumulé du retard concernant la valorisation de notre langue maternelle, au fil des années, on a pu réduire cet écart. Entre la concrétisation du dictionnaire, l’introduction du créole dans les écoles, il n’y a que son introduction au Parlement qui est en suspens. Un groupe d’universitaires travaille sur un projet en ce sens.

Le professeur Arnaud Carpooran, qui est le Personal Chair in French and Creole Studies, doyen de la faculté des Social Sciences and Humanities, mais aussi président de la Creole Speaking Union, affirme que cela fait de nombreuses années que la Journée internationale de la langue créole et de la culture créole est célébrée. Ajoutant que Maurice était en retard en la matière, mais fait désormais relativement bien. « C’est l’Université de Maurice qui a commencé à célébrer cette Journée. Cette année, ce sera la 20e édition. On doit avouer que, depuis la première édition, il y a eu une réflexion et les choses ont beaucoup avancé », explique le Pr Carpooran.

Il cite plusieurs événements majeurs, notamment le dictionnaire en créole, dont le prototype est sorti en 2005, la première édition en 2009, la deuxième en 2011 et la dernière en 2019. Le Pr Arnaud Carpooran souligne, de plus, la célébration du festival kreol, devenu un rendez-vous annuel depuis 2006. En sus, la langue créole a été introduite dans le cursus scolaire, soit dans le primaire en 2012, et dans les collèges en 2018, alors qu’à l’université il y a un programme depuis six ans.

« On a fait un bon bout de chemin, tant au niveau académique, scientifique et scolaire. Il faut que le créole soit désormais introduit dans d’autres institutions, dont le Parlement. Je trouve que c’est bon signe que les ministères respectent l’orthographe dans les publicités. On entame des discussions plus poussées afin que le créole soit proposé comme sujet en SC et HSC », déclare le président de la Creole Speaking Union.

Terminologie discutée
Sur le volet concernant l’introduction du créole au Parlement, en juillet de cette année, le chef du gouvernement affirmait dans l’hémicycle que ce processus prendra du temps. « La maîtrise de la langue à tous les niveaux est un prérequis majeur de son introduction à l’Assemblée nationale. Et, ce processus prendra du temps.

Pour que le kreol soit utilisé au Parlement, nous devons nous assurer que les parlementaires et le personnel de l’Assemblée aient reçu une formation appropriée pour cette langue ». C’est ce qu’a fait comprendre Pravind Jugnauth, en réponse à une question ayant trait à l’utilisation du kreol au Parlement. C’était lors de la Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT), à l’Assemblée nationale, le 7 juillet dernier.

Entre-temps, un groupe d’universitaires a travaillé sur un projet s’intitulant « Preparasion terin pou introdiksion Kreol Repiblik Moris dan Parlman ». Parmi, la chargée de cours, Christina Chan-Meetoo, qui est également membre du board de la Creole Speaking Union. Elle précise qu’il y a plusieurs sous-comités qui ont travaillé sur différents aspects, notamment la terminologie, le registre de langue (par exemple : Unparliamentary language), l’informatique, l’information et la formation. « Il y a tout un travail à faire à partir des méthodologies. On a commencé le travail qui se structure au fur et à mesure », soutient-elle.

Christina Chan-Meetoo dit, par ailleurs, espérer que tous ceux qui veulent écrire continuent de faire l’effort de bien respecter l’orthographe standard, comme ils le feraient pour toute autre langue. « Le créole poursuit son chemin vers une utilisation reconnue de sa forme écrite standard dans les structures formelles. Il y a déjà de plus en plus de situations où le créole est utilisé pour communiquer avec le public en général, que ce soit dans les instances publiques ou commerciales privées », indique Christina Chan-Meetoo. Elle ajoute qu’il y a encore des progrès à faire pour assurer le respect de l’orthographe officielle, mais il est indéniable qu’il y a souvent de la bonne volonté et des efforts.

Déception
Pour sa part, le Pr Jimmy Harmon, responsable du secondaire au Service Diocésain de l’Éducation Catholique (SeDEC) et qui a été engagé pour l’introduction du créole dans les écoles, rappelle qu’il y avait le projet ‘prevok bek’ qui a vu le jour en 2005 et préparé par le linguiste Dev Virahsawmy. « Je tenais les rênes de ce projet qui a eu un réel impact à travers l’introduction du créole dans les écoles primaires, ensuite secondaires », relate notre interlocuteur.

Même s’il y a eu des avancements, il reste encore du chemin à faire. Sa déception provient du fait qu’il n’y ait pas de réponse claire sur la langue créole comme une langue à part entière dans le cursus scolaire en SC et HSC. « Des étudiants peuvent étudier le créole jusqu’en Grade 9. Il y a de nombreux élèves qui souhaitent poursuivre l’apprentissage de notre langue maternelle. C’est dommage, voire décevant, qu’on n’ait pas de réponse claire quant à la possibilité d’étudier le créole et prendre part aux examens en SC et HSC. »

Pour sa part, le linguiste, Dev Virahsawmy, est d’avis qu’il y a encore du travail à faire pour l’avancement de la langue créole. « On doit développer une stratégie pour que tous les Mauriciens se servent de la langue créole morisien et l’autre qu’on appelle créole anglais. On doit promouvoir le bilingual literacy. C’est-à-dire, on doit apprendre à parler, écrire, lire et compter en ces deux langues. Si on arrive à le faire, la population sera une population éclairée, éduquée et moderne. Or, les politiciens ne comprennent pas cela », déplore Dev Virahsawmy, qui estime qu’il y a un gros travail d’éducation à faire.

20e édition de la Journée internationale de la langue et de la culture créole
En marge de la Journée internationale de la langue et de la culture créole, l’Université de Maurice et la Creole Speaking Union organisent, ce mercredi 28 octobre, la 20e édition au The Core Building à Ébène. Le thème cette année : “Kreol Repiblik Moris : Nouvo defi, nouvo perspektiv”

10/09/2020 By christina Leave a Comment

https://defimedia.info/les-mauriciens-croient-de-moins-en-moins-aux-versions-officielles
Les Mauriciens croient de moins en moins aux versions officielles
05 SEPTEMBRE 2020

BY DEFIMEDIA.INFO .
Contact:
Les réseaux sociaux ont amplifié cette crise de confiance entre la population et les politiques.
Le manque de communication du gouvernement et la polarisation de certains médias sont autant de facteurs qui poussent les citoyens à prendre des vessies pour des lanternes. Un scientifique et trois spécialistes des médias expliquent cette situation.

Le phénomène n’est pas nouveau. Le manque de transparence notoire du gouvernement sur certains dossiers brûlants, couplé à la propension de radiotélévision nationale et d’autres médias proches de pouvoir à distiller l’information poussent de plus en plus de Mauriciens à s’abreuver en théories de complot.

Un petit tour sur les réseaux sociaux montre que les thèses les plus farfelues sont les plus populaires, que l’émotion l’emporte bien souvent sur le rationnel et que tout avis contraire est voué aux gémonies. Depuis le naufrage du MV Wakashio, différentes théories sur le drossage du minéralier sur les récifs de Pointe-d’Esny foisonnent, les explications officielles étant considérées comme infondées.

Manque de confiance
« Il y a un manque de confiance dans tout. Ce qui ne date pas d’aujourd’hui, bien au contraire. Les gens ne cherchent pas à se renseigner avant de colporter ce qu’ils croient être des informations fiables. C’est plus facile pour eux de partager de la désinformation que du concret. Quelqu’un croit avoir vu un cachalot, tout le monde le croit. Des hydrocarbures n’ont pas été découverts dans le système digestif ou respiratoire des mammifères, mais les gens vont s’attarder sur la photo de la gueule d’un dauphin échoué sur un rivage pollué », déplore un scientifique.

Dans une telle situation, la presse indépendante a le devoir de jouer son rôle de phare dans ce brouillard, afin de guider les citoyens. Le sensationnalisme étant le propre des réseaux sociaux. La facilité avec laquelle certains médias reprennent ces théories de complot sur ces mêmes réseaux, sans toutefois apporter de réponses claires, ne fait qu’alimenter la polémique, constate notre interlocuteur.

« C’est un manque de formation sans doute, pour les uns, et un manque d’éthique, pour d’autres. Le sensationnalisme fait vendre. Les médias doivent éclairer les gens. Très peu de titres seulement sont intéressés par ce qui se passe. On préfère écouter des personnes qui véhiculent des faussetés. C’est un comportement grégaire », fait-il comprendre.

Pas de rationalité, pas de sérénité
« La crise de confiance dans la parole des politiques n’est pas le propre de Maurice. Je ne vais pas nécessairement rejoindre l’analyse de Lalit, je sais que tout le monde leur est tombé dessus à bras raccourcis, mais il y a des éléments qu’il ne faut pas rejeter », fait ressortir Christina Chan-Meetoo, chargée de cours en communication à l’université de Maurice.

Elle fait valoir que les Mauriciens ont toujours critiqué les politiciens ou les partis qu’ils ont portés au pouvoir. Avant, ces ras-le-bol c’était davantage dans les cercles intimes. Avec les réseaux sociaux, ils n’hésitent pas à partager leurs opinions à visage découvert. « Vraie ou fausse, la viralité est tellement facile, tellement grande, que ça peut faire le tour de la planète en un clin d’œil », poursuit-elle.

Réceptif à une nouvelle, même fausse, parce qu’elle répond à plusieurs critères inconscients…”
« La polarisation accrue des médias n’aide pas à éclairer les lecteurs », dit-elle. Elle remarque également que certains « journalistes n’aident pas » à décanter la situation, notamment à travers des posts ironiques ou qui ne sont ni plus ni moins que du « character assassination ». « L’objectivité pure n’a jamais existé. Au fil des années, il y a des positionnements de médias pro ou anti gouvernement, ça n’aide pas à assainir le débat », déclare-t-elle.

La situation est telle que les Mauriciens sont à fleur de peau sur les réseaux sociaux et qu’ils peuvent descendre une personne qui décide de faire part d’une opinion contraire. « Il n’y a pas de rationalité, pas de sérénité. » Elle déplore la mauvaise communication du gouvernement sur le MV Wakashio. « Il y a eu des manquements, il n’a pas communiqué assez vite », ajoute-t-elle.

Tout le monde est un média
« Les rumeurs ont toujours existé et déstabilisé les sources officielles, gouvernement et presse. Mais aujourd’hui, elles ont beaucoup plus d’ampleur et voyagent plus vite avec la caisse de résonance qu’est Facebook. Tout le monde est un média. Pas uniquement les journaux, la radio », constate Ariane Cavalot-de l’Estrac, ancienne directrice de publication de La Sentinelle.

« Je vais écouter la rumeur, elle va “prendre” sur moi parce qu’elle se nourrit de la part d’ombre qui est en moi : la peur, la frustration, la colère. Je suis réceptif à une nouvelle, même fausse, parce qu’elle répond à plusieurs critères inconscients. Elle est compatible avec et elle renforce ce que je pense déjà. Elle tient la route ; elle vient d’une source crédible, la personne qui l’a partagé sur Facebook est crédible puisque je la connais », enchaîne-t-elle.

« La rumeur est acceptée par des gens comme moi ; elle est soutenue par des preuves, par exemple une photo. La photo d’un dauphin mort sur une plage qui a l’air d’avoir des traces de pollution répond à tous ces critères pour que je conclue que c’est à cause de la marée noire provoquée par le MV Wakashio », résume-t-elle.

Tsunami de mauvaises interprétations
Zeenat Hansrod, une journaliste du desk anglais à Radio France Internationale qui suit assidûment l’actualité locale constate que certaines pratiques au sein des médias locaux aident à propager de fausses nouvelles sur les réseaux sociaux. « Le copier-coller est une plaie dans notre profession. Copier une information et la diffuser sans contre-vérification est irresponsable et peut avoir des conséquences désastreuses », analyse-t-elle.

« Le 1er septembre, j’ai obtenu des informations du Japon que certains médias influents, à l’instar de la Tokyo Broadcasting System, rapportent que Port-Louis réclame une compensation de 3,2 milliards de yens, soit l’équivalent de Rs 1,2 milliard, de Tokyo pour la marée noire provoquée par le MV Wakashio. Ils ont tous repris une information reprise par un média mauricien », explique celle qui a démarré dans le journalisme à Maurice.

« Cette information grandement diffusée au Japon a causé un tollé, car les Japonais estiment que ce n’est pas à leur gouvernement de mettre la main à la poche, mais à l’armateur du minéralier. En fait, Maurice réclamait de l’aide pour l’achat de bateaux de pêche semi-industriels et l’erreur vient d’une mauvaise traduction du français au japonais. Cela a créé un tsunami de mauvaises interprétations », ajoute-t-elle.

« Cela prend un peu de temps pour vérifier une information, mais il faut s’y atteler, surtout à l’ère d’Internet et des réseaux sociaux qui permet à tout le monde d’écrire et de partager très facilement. Rapporter rien que les faits est essentiel à la rigueur et à l’éthique de notre métier », fait-elle ressortir. Elle met en exergue la différence entre le journalisme, l’activisme et l’opinion. Il y a une règle à respecter : « Il ne faut jamais mélanger faits et opinions ».

https://www.christinameetoo.com/2020/09/10/679/

«Kaya ant sime lamizer ek sime lalimier» : un livre dédié au roi du seggae

15/08/2020 By christina Leave a Comment

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«Kaya ant sime lamizer ek sime lalimier» : un livre dédié au roi du seggae
11 AOÛT 2020

PAR EMILY PAYEN
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« Kaya ant sime lamizer ek sime lalimier ». C’est le titre d’un livre rédigé entièrement en kreol morisien qui a été lancé le lundi 10 août au théâtre Serge Constantin, à Vacoas.

Ce livre publié par la Creole Speaking Union (CSU) est dédié au père et roi du seggae, Joseph Reginald Topize, aussi connu comme Kaya. L’artiste aurait célébré ses 60 ans le 10 août s’il était encore en vie.

Pour lui rendre hommage, une équipe supervisée par Christina Chan Meetoo, chargée de cours à l’université de Maurice et le Dr Arnaud Carpooran, a retranscrit un manuscrit des textes et pensées quotidiennes du chanteur décédé.

Le livre est déjà disponible au bureau de la Creole Speaking Union à Quatre-Bornes.

Sexism adds to mounting pressure women journalists are facing in Africa

21/05/2020 By christina Leave a Comment

https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/sexism-adds-to-mounting-pressure-women-journalists-are-facing-in-africa-48070849

Sexism adds to mounting pressure women journalists are facing in Africa
By Edwin Naidu Time of article published May 18, 2020

The closures of Associated Media and Caxton magazine division, along with the transition of the Daily Sun primarily into a digital format, and the recent resignations of Mail & Guardian editor Khadija Patel and deputy Beauregard Tromp added to a woeful period for the media in South Africa, especially when May 3 was World Press Freedom Day.

Throughout Africa, the ongoing narrative about journalists, especially women, struggling to express themselves in newsrooms also cast a shadow over World Press Freedom Day.
Newsrooms in Ghana are also shedding staff, while in Malawi, journalist Brian Banda was attacked by alleged supporters of a political party on May 7, with incidents elsewhere reflecting media on the continent under siege.

David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council last month that many governments are restricting access to information, leading to journalists being intimidated, detained, questioned and harassed.

An ongoing survey of journalists by Sunday Independent found that the messengers of the news in Africa are telling their stories under mounting pressure.

Some are struggling to survive, amid poor working conditions, low salaries, inadequate resources, government interference, harassment and censorship, worsened by secrecy of governments’ management of information related to Covid-19.

Very often, media owners claim that they are in favour of women empowerment and are trying their utmost best to promote gender equality within their newsrooms and in their editorial content but according to senior lecturer in media studies at the University of Mauritius, Christina Chan-Meetoo, in a forthcoming book, the reality is further from the truth.

Christina Chan-Meetoo, a senior lecturer in media studies at the University of Mauritius.
Chan-Meetoo said one had to acknowledge that commercial imperatives and lazy journalism are still prevalent and that the gender agenda is often given due credence only for International Women’s Day or when a plethora of gender-based crimes dominate the news.

“All four main print media groups, private radio stations and public broadcasters are directed by male CEOs and have males as majority shareholders. In fact, none of the key directors of media houses in Mauritius spanning the written press, radio, TV and online news media are women,” she said .

In Somalia, the gender inequality is as alarming with sexual harassment a major concern, according to Farhia Mohamed Kheyre, chairperson of the Somali Women Journalists Organisation based in Mogadishu.

Farhia Mohamed Kheyre, chairperson of the Somali Women Journalists Organisation based in Mogadishu.
Mohamed Kheyre said key decisions are still made by men, sexual harassment is rife, and gender policies were absent.

“A study done last year shows that much remains to be done to ensure that sexual harassment can be dealt with effectively,” said Mohamed Kheyre.

Women have it no better in Rwanda where the freedom to carry out their tasks is proving to be a challenge, especially during the pandemic, according to Francine Mukase, a freelance journalist in Kigali, Rwanda, who said the secrecy around information being released by the Rwandan government was making it difficult to report on the pandemic.

“Press briefings seem like a formality, without specific data, that’s a challenge. One is not allowed to ask questions either,” she said.

Tanzania is about 1000km from Rwanda, but the challenges are similar, according to Aurelia Gabriel, a senior journalist at her organisation.

“Many female journalists are working under difficult conditions.

“Women are not given a chance to own management positions, even if appointed as managers, they are still oppressed. Women in newsrooms are also sexually abused,” said Gabriel.

Awarding-winning BBC journalist Yvonne Mooka works in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana and her situation is different.

“There has been tremendous progress. Women are empowered.

“We have female journalists leading newsrooms.

“Women have a voice,” she said.

Mooka said the gender imbalance of the past has changed in Botswana with more women in leadership positions but disparities in pay remain.

“I believe there are equal opportunities for women. All they have to do is ‘grab them’. It starts with an individual,” she said.

Nonhlanhla Ngwenya is editor of online media platform Community Radio Harare in Zimbabwe.

She said the station strove to have an equal presentation of journalists at the organisation.

“We currently have seven reporters and four are women.

“But, generally, the media is male dominated and most women in the field tend to be given soft or easy beats.

“There has been conversation around equality in the newsroom by organisations such as the Young Journalists’ Association (YOJA),” she said.

Men still dominate the media in Kenya – as reporters/journalists and as news sources/actors, according to The Gender Agender, the last survey on women in the media in Kenya undertaken five years ago.

This study concludes that many media outlets operate without gender policies and this was evident when the majority of the members said they were not aware of gender policies in their media houses, and where they existed, they were not being sensitised.

But the road to freedom for women in the media on the continent remains a dream far from their daily realities – while in South Africa the current challenges facing journalists also revolve around survival.

The Sunday Independent