By Clarisse Sih, Bibbi Abruzzini & Vitoria Dacal, Forus, EU SEE member
In early 2025, shortly after releasing an investigative report showing that Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir had, contrary to country regulations, appointed many family members of his to key positions, investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani was arrested This was done under Pakistan’s amended cybercrime laws for “cyberterrorism” and “defamation of state institutions.” Noorani is a Pakistani investigative journalist known for reporting on elite corruption and state accountability and co-founder of FactFocus.
Within days, Noorani’s two brothers—both engineers with no link to journalism—were abducted. Up to now, Noorani has gone into exile and his brothers’ whereabouts remain unknown. The case of Ahmad Noorani is not an isolated incident but rather part of a consistent and escalating pattern of repression against journalists, dissenters, and human rights defenders across the globe – using the digital realm as the main court.
When Cyber Protections Undermine the Enabling Environment
You may not think cyberlaws affect you, until they do. Your social media posts can be taken down by social media companies on the request of governments; data weaponized, or journalists and civil society leaders criminalized under vaguely defined offenses in the digital sphere such as “spreading false information” or “insulting public figures.”
Strong, clear, inclusively drafted cyberlaws are crucial to protect us now and ensure civil society can operate safely in the digital age. However, when misused or not inclusively drafted, they can become tools of control, not protection.
As these laws continue to emerge with limited transparency or public participation, a crucial question arises: how can digital governance frameworks be developed more inclusively to genuinely support an enabling environment for civil society
A global pattern of cyber repression
Recent alerts recorded by EU SEE, a consortium of international and national civil society organizations in over 86 countries, highlight a disturbing trend – governments increasingly enacting cyber laws that grant overwhelming powers to authorities to potentially overreach public liberties – often at the expense of individual rights and civil society’s operational independence. These laws and their misuse against civil society can have a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression and stifle voices of dissent.
In Pakistan, amendments to the country’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) have led to increased censorship and the detention of media personnel, in an already heavily controlled digital space.including internet shutdowns, bans on Tik Tok and severely limitations for civil society to investigate corruption or hold state actors accountable
Zambia’s controversial cybersecurity and cybercrime bills have raised concerns about the potential misuse for surveillance and arbitrary enforcement, severely threatening the operational environment for independent media and political advocacy.
“Despite the government’s stated commitment to democratic values, the controversial and “silent” signing of Zambia’s Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes bills into laws by the President on April 8th, 2025 raises serious concerns about shrinking civic space. The laws were passed with minimal publicity, leaving many Zambians to hear of it through a foreign embassy’s alert. Civil society had consistently opposed these bills flagging vague provisions that allow for unchecked surveillance powers, arbitrary enforcement, and weak safeguards for genuine citizen actions, personal privacy and media freedom, warning that such laws risk undermining fundamental rights and threaten the operational and civic space,” says the EU SEE Network member in Zambia.
In Myanmar, the military junta has implemented a new cybersecurity law aimed at consolidating control over digital spaces and curtailing civil society’s digital security and undermining its capacity to mobilize, communicate securely, and challenge government narratives.
“Burma/Myanmar today is a living example of what digital dictatorship looks like. The attacks on digital rights are an extension of the political, economic and physical violence that has included airstrikes and artillery attacks on civilians. Sanctions to restrict the junta’s capacity to commit these crimes are long overdue,” says Debbie Stothard or ALTSEAN-Burma
In Jordan activist Hamza Khader was arrested under provisions of the 2023 Cybercrime Law due to social media posts advocating for a boycott of Israel, illustrating how broadly defined cybercrime laws directly impact the operational space for political and civic advocacy.
In Sierra Leone, social media influencer Hawa Hunt was arrested live on a reality TV show in late 2024, for criticising President Bio. Although charges under the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021 were later withdrawn following advocacy efforts by local civil society groups and international actors, her prolonged detention demonstrates a chilling effect on civil society’s freedom to engage and express dissent publicly.
These developments documented by EU SEE’s Early Warning Mechanism, unveil a “dark pattern” where digital legislation is increasingly misused, deteriorating rather than reinforcing the enabling environment for civil society worldwide.
From Monitoring to Action
Knowing and accessing data on one’s digital environment allows CSOs, governments, and other stakeholders to proactively respond to emerging threats, mobilize advocacy efforts, and address challenges before restrictive measures become entrenched.
In a recent learning space convened under the EU SEE project, participants discussed and reflected on practical experiences related to cyberlaw frameworks in diverse national and regional contexts, including cases from Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Chile, Indonesia, Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya. Emerging findings from recent research carried out by the EU SEE network, allows us to begin mapping both the convergences and specificities in how cyberlaws are being debated, enforced and contested.
Across countries like Indonesia, Zambia, and Uganda, civil society is facing growing challenges under problematic cyberlaws. In Indonesia, the 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction Law has been widely criticized for enabling the criminalization of journalists and activists through vague defamation and blasphemy provisions. Zambia, meanwhile, is in a transition phase, introducing cyberlaws that raise serious privacy concerns – so much that the U.S. government issued a travel advisory. In Uganda, laws like the Computer Misuse Act and the Public Management Act are used to target dissent and limit online organising.
The problem is not only the existence of cybercrime laws that infringe on freedoms of expression etc but also (in other contexts) the absence of laws or mechanisms that would provide protection from digital threats and harassment.
A recurring theme throughout the discussions was the ambiguity and weaponization of legal language: vague terms like “national security” or “public annoyance” have opened the door for the abuse of cybercrime legislation, often used to silent dissent, target journalists, or restrict civic space. As Miriam Beatrice from Paradigm Initiative pointedly observed, “from a policy and advocacy angle, countries are doing something illegal when we look at the legal framework”.
In 2023, Paradigm Initiative coordinated civil society efforts to push Parliament for reforms of Nigeria’s 2015 Cybercrime Law ‘dangerous’ for exploiting vague terms and a lack of legal clarity. The process remained inconclusive, but highlighted systemic issues: imprecise language, absent accountability, and the normalisation of surveillance under law.
Yet not all experiences are marked by restriction and repression. Monitoring can also serve to map good practices that shed light on how other governments can take inspiration to better protect their citizens. Chile, ranked among the top three countries for internet freedom, recently adopted a new Data Protection Law (Dec 2024) after six years of debate. The 2019 estallido social opened channels for CSOs to work directly with legislators, resulting in more participatory digital governance. Oversight mechanisms function, and further regulation – such as a draft AI bill – is now on the table. As one activist put it: ‘The 2019 protests triggered a long-term shift in how civil society interacts with lawmakers. From that moment on, we’ve seen sustained engagement leading to concrete advances like the establishment of an independent data protection authority
“Inclusive digital governance means that civil society isn’t just consulted at the margins, it has the ability to contribute to the rules from the start, with access to information, real participation, and mechanisms for accountability” said Hector Delgado, from Fundacion multitudes.
In Lesotho, civil society—working in partnership with the media and champions within the government, including Parliament—successfully mobilized to stop the adoption of a proposed cyber law that failed to guarantee fundamental freedoms. The new administration is now revisiting the law, and this collaborative engagement should continue to ensure that the revised legislation protects rights rather than represses them.
The need for truly inclusive and enabling digital governance
With the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) ongoing in Norway and other fora coming up in the months ahead, the imperative for genuinely inclusive digital legislation is clearer than ever. Civil society organizations worldwide advocate for a meaningful role at the decision-making table – and clear access to information – where the development and implementation of digital legislations are concerned. The focus is clear: ensuring digital legislation genuinely protects, supports and enhances civil society’s enabling environment rather than undermining it.
The Civil society Alliance for Digital Empowerment (CADE) Initiative now reinforces civil society’s capacities to advocate for inclusive, enabling and rights-based digital policies and ensures that civil society voices, particularly those from the Global Majority, shape internet governance discussions. EU SEE will be presenting several stories and experiences from across its network at the IGF in a️ session on Cyber Laws and Civic Space with a roundtable on global south–global north advocacy strategies for digital rights and freedoms across the globe.
“Digitalisation touches the lives of billions of people around the world, but how many are consulted and informed? We believe in the power of strengthening capacities and creating new links between civil society organisations around the globe to influence internet governance forums and bring forward the needs of communities – especially of those currently left behind,” says Christelle Kalhoule, chair of Forus and civil society leader in Burkina Faso.