Gambia Passes Law That Gives Internet Activists 15 Year Jail Terms
from the a-bit-sensitive,-are-we? dept
Apparently, the government of Gambia is a bit sensitive to those darn people on the internet criticizing their actions. They've just ratified a new law that will give 15 year jail sentences to anyone who uses the internet to spread "false news," (there's also a fine that's about $100,000 USD) though as the title of the linked article notes, the real target is internet activists. "False news," apparently, is anything that the country's government officials don't like. The previous rule had been a possible 6 month jail term and ~$17 USD fine. Evidently that wasn't enough to shut up pesky government critics online. Of course, all a move like this really does is signal to the world that the Gambian government is really freaking scared of its own public.Filed Under: free speech, gambia, internet activism
