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evant laws will be admissible in court in relation totelecom fraud offences.Key issuesThere has been a proliferation of counter-terrorismlegislation globally following 9/11, which isconsidered a turning point in the history of counterterrorism.8 As indicated above, Ethiopia also passedan anti-terrorism law in July 2009. Since its promulgation,this law and its application have beencontroversial. A recent BBC article 9 published on25 March 2014, referring to a Human Rights Watch(HRW) report on Ethiopia, reported the Ethiopiangovernment’s use of imported technology (mainlyfrom European and Chinese firms) to undertakesurveillance on the phones and computers of itsperceived opponents. The report points out thatgiven that all phone and internet connections inEthiopia are provided by a state-owned company,the government has the power to monitor communicationsand have access to all call records of alltelephone users in the country. This includes accessto recorded conversations that can be usedin the interrogation of suspects. According to theHRW report, the government has extended its surveillanceto Ethiopians living overseas. Ethiopiansliving abroad (mainly in the United Kingdom and theUnited States) have accused the government of usingspy software on their computers.In terms of the legality and legitimate aim ofsuch action, the government has issued the anti-terrorismlaw on the grounds of the clear and presentdanger of terrorism in Ethiopia, coupled with the inadequacyof ordinary laws to deal with this reality.Furthermore, it also argues that the United NationsSecurity Council resolution 1373 (2001) requirescountries (including Ethiopia) to pass the law. 10However, given the fact that digital surveillance is ahighly intrusive act that interferes with the rights toprivacy and freedom of opinion and expression, theproportionality of its application is feared to underminethe democratic process.The Ethiopian Television and Radio Agencyhosted a debate 11 in August 2013 among politicalparties on a range of issues relating to the Ethiopiananti-terrorism law and its application. While8 Kassa, W. D. (2013). Examining Some of the Raisons D’Être for theEthiopian Anti-Terrorism Law. Mizan Law Review, 7(1).9 BBC. (2014, March 25). Ethiopia uses foreign kit to spyon opponents – HRW. BBC. www.bbc.com/news/worldafrica-2673043710 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), adoptedby the Security Council at its 4385th meeting, on 28 September2001.11 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g5JhwpAt4Uthe incumbent ruling party argues the legitimacyof this law on the grounds of the clear and presentdanger of terrorism in Ethiopia, the oppositionparties argued the impact of this law on democraticrights and processes in the country. Furthermore,this can be considered a means of popularising thelaw to create awareness among the wider public,given there is little evidence of the level of awarenessamong the public in general on the use andscope of digital surveillance techniques and powersstated in the law. There is also little awareness bothamong civil society and the legislature of internationalprinciples such as user notification, whereindividuals should be notified of a decision authorisingcommunications surveillance with enoughtime and information to enable them to appeal thedecision, or the need for independent public oversightmechanisms.With regard to the international principle on theintegrity of communications and systems, wherestates should not compel service providers or hardwareor software vendors to build surveillance ormonitoring capability, the anti-terrorism law declaresin Article 14 that “any communication serviceprovider shall cooperate when requested by the NationalIntelligence and Security Service to conductthe interception.”A recent article in Addis Fortune 12 reflects concernfor privacy and data protection amidst thegrowing use of the internet in Ethiopia and globaldigital intrusion. In this context, the internationalprinciple on safeguards for international cooperationsuggests applying the higher level of protectionfor individuals where there are agreements betweenstates. Furthermore, the international principle onsafeguards against illegitimate access suggeststhat states should enact legislation criminalisingillegal communications surveillance by public andprivate actors. In both instances, there is concernthat Ethiopia does not have a legal framework thatcould make authorities liable for a breach of userdata and cross-border cyber-security issues. Thisoccurs in the context of a lack of concern fromEthiopian internet users on the subject, and is oneimportant gap that needs to be addressed by thegovernment. Such a gap is also noted in the Informationand Communication Technology Policy of2009, which clearly recognises the need, amongother cyber-oriented laws, to issue a data protectionlaw.12 Yilma, K. (2012, June 5). Unprepared Ethiopia faces privacyintrusion. Addis Fortune. addisfortune.net/columns/unpreparedethiopia-faces-privacy-intrusionAs the number of internet users increases overtime – the government plans to increase it to 3.69million by the end of the Growth and TransformationPlan (GTP) period in 2015 13 – the data privacy ofinternet users in Ethiopia will undoubtedly becomecrucial if this sector is to contribute its share to theeconomy. A recent report from the McKinsey GlobalInstitute 14 indicates that, as in many countries in Africa,the internet’s contribution to Ethiopia’s grossdomestic product (GDP) is 0.6%, which is low comparedto the leading countries of Senegal (3.3%)and Kenya (2.9%). Ethiopia falls under the categoryof countries that perform below their weight, alongwith Angola, Algeria and Nigeria.It would therefore be important to assess theimplications of digital surveillance on the growthof ICT-based services such as e‐commerce 15 ande‐government, 16 which are both key sectors givenprominent attention in the implementation of thenational ICT policy in Ethiopia. The Ministry ofCommunications and Information Technology iscurrently implementing the e‐government strategy,which aims to develop more than 200 e‐services(currently in different phases of implementation)and get 20% of government departments online. 17There is also evidence of the growing use of ICTs inbusiness, with internet use in companies in Ethiopiarated at 3.6 on a 0 to 7 index range. 18 It is thereforeimportant to review the impact of laws on the growthand use of the internet in various sectors.For example, although the proclamationon the “Prevention and Suppression of MoneyLaundering and Financing Terrorism” does not explicitlyaddress e‐commerce, there is a need toassess whether the provisions of the law have animpact on e‐commerce broadly and electronic fundtransfers specifically. Similarly, e‐government couldbe affected by the legislation mentioned above inboth positive and negative ways, which requiresfurther investigation. While the intense focus onimproving data collection and information practicesand systems may contribute to the establishmentof government-wide technical standards and bestpractices that could facilitate the implementation13 Ibid.14 McKinsey & Company. (2013). Lions go digital: The Internet’stransformative potential in Africa. Johannesburg: McKinsey GlobalInstitute.15 Commercial transactions on the internet, whether retail businessto-customeror business-to-business or business-to-government,are commonly called electronic commerce, or “e-commerce”.16 E-government involves using information technology, andespecially the internet, to improve the delivery of governmentservices to citizens, business, and other government agencies.17 McKinsey & Company. (2013). Op. cit.18 Ibid.of new and existing e‐government initiatives, itcould also promote the use of secure web portalsto help ensure the data integrity of transactions betweenthe government and citizens and business.However, concerns about the potential abuses ofdata collection provisions could jeopardise citizenenthusiasm for carrying out electronic transactionswith the government.With the evolution of the internet and digitalcommunications, new trends are emerging andregulatory interventions are becoming even morecomplex in the context of these emerging issues– such as the revelations of widespread internetsurveillance, human rights imperatives, the line betweenprivacy versus security, and managing criticalresources that make the internet possible. In thisregard, governments should demonstrate greatertransparency as regards their practices in the collectionof personal data, taking into account theconsiderations of national security, citizen rightsand public accountability.ConclusionsThe World Summit on the Information Society(WSIS) Action Plan recommends “cooperationamong the governments at the United Nations andwith all stakeholders as appropriate to enhanceuser confidence, build trust, and protect both dataand network integrity; consider existing and potentialthreats to ICTs; and address other informationsecurity and network security issues.” Though belatedin realising the legal framework in changingcircumstances, such as the growing ubiquity of theinternet, the Ethiopian government has recentlystarted working on these issues. Laws that regulateonline behaviour and transactions are in thepipeline. A cyber-crime law, drafted by the InformationNetwork Security Agency, and an e‐commercelaw, drafted by the Ministry of Communicationand Information Technology in collaboration withthe United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(UNECA), are examples. In this regard, theConference of African Union Ministers of Justiceadopted the African Union Convention on Cybersecurityand Personal Data Protection in May 2014.The Convention, which was drafted by UNECA incollaboration with the African Union Commission,and which has been reviewed through a series ofsub-regional consultations with regional economiccommunities, is expected to be tabled before theAfrican Union Heads of State and Government forratification later this year. The Convention coversfour areas, namely cyber security, combating cybercrime, electronic transactions (e‐transactions), and126 / Global Information Society Watch ethiopia / 127