From Platform Jumping to Anonymous Posting: ICT use and Internet Freedom in Zambia

• In Event: International Research on Internet Freedom: Concepts, Challenges, and Comparisons

Abstract

Press freedom in Zambia experienced a series of sudden and unexpected setbacks in 2013. President Michael Sata and his ruling Patriotic Front (PF) government arrested and harassed independent journalists and news outlets, blocked critical websites including the popular Zambian Watchdog (ZWD), and increased their dominance of the broadcast and print outlets that reach a majority of Zambians. This paper reports findings from a field-based study of ICT usage and Internet freedom in Lusaka, Zambia in 2013. Using a mixed-method approach, including ethnographic interviews and surveys of citizens, journalists, educators, and political activists, the study analyzes the current free speech climate in Lusaka. Data reveal that Zambians have created multiple tactics for circumventing government censorship including device sharing, platform jumping (across print, radio, and social media), self-censorship, anonymous posting, legal challenges, and partnership with NGOs. The study concludes by discussing these practices in relation to Zambia’s upcoming 2016 presidential election.

Authors

• Miriam Metzger, U of California - Santa Barbara

• Lisa Parks, U of California - Santa Barbara

• Rahul Mukherjee, University of Pennsylvania

• Kristin Page Hocevar, University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)