{"id":91774,"date":"2026-04-11T13:42:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law"},"modified":"2026-04-11T14:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T14:08:29","slug":"media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law","title":{"rendered":"Media Watchdog Urges Review of South Sudan Cybercrimes Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an urgent review of South Sudan\u2019s new cybercrimes law, which punishes defamation with up to five years in prison, criminalizes speech on overly broad grounds, and fails to protect whistleblowers and public interest reporting.<\/p>\n

CPJ, in a press release on Thursday, noted that human rights activists have raised concerns that the law could criminalize legitimate online activity and be misused to further restrict press freedom.<\/p>\n

The South Sudanese authorities have maintained that the law was intended to address online fraud and digital harassment.<\/p>\n

CPJ quoted South Sudanese human rights activist and researcher James Bidal, saying that the Act\u2019s vague definitions of \u201cfalse or misleading information\u201d (Section 44) and \u201cundesirable content\u201d (Section 42) leave journalists and other citizens in a dangerous position of \u201clegal uncertainty,\u201d as these terms can be interpreted subjectively by authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn its current form, the Act presents a risk of potential misuse and self-censorship,\u201d Bidal, who is head of the Secretariat for the South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN), was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n

President Salva Kiir signed the Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Act, 2026, into law on February 18, replacing the Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Provisional Order, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Sudan\u2019s 2026 cybercrimes law is fundamentally flawed. Not only does it increase the jail sentences for defamation and false news, but it also contains myriad poorly crafted provisions that leave it open to abusive interpretation,\u201d said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Sudanese authorities need to go back to the drawing board to enact a law that addresses legitimate cybercrime concerns without undermining freedom of expression or making it even more difficult for journalists to do their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Sudan\u2019s 2008 Penal Code already punishes defamation with up to two years in prison and\/or a fine.<\/p>\n

Imprisoning journalists for causing reputational damage is incompatible with international human rights standards. Both the United Nations and the African Commission on Human and Peoples\u2019 Rights recommend the decriminalization of defamation.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an urgent review of South Sudan\u2019s new cybercrimes law, which punishes defamation with up to five years in prison, criminalizes speech on overly broad grounds, and fails to protect whistleblowers and public interest reporting. CPJ, in a press release on Thursday, noted that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-91774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"\nMedia Watchdog Urges Review of South Sudan Cybercrimes Law - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an urgent review of South Sudan\u2019s new cybercrimes law, which p ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Media Watchdog Urges Review of South Sudan Cybercrimes Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an urgent review of South Sudan\u2019s new cybercrimes law, which p ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-11T13:42:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-11T14:08:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/04\/sm_1775903776.620022.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1049\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"478\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Media Watchdog Urges Review of South Sudan Cybercrimes Law\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-11T13:42:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-11T14:08:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law\"},\"wordCount\":349,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/04\/sm_1775903776.620022.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Sudan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/media-watchdog-urges-review-of-south-sudan-cybercrimes-law\",\"name\":\"Media Watchdog Urges Review of South Sudan Cybercrimes Law - 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