South Africa FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ONLINE LOOKING FORWARD TO 2018 South Africa’s digital media environment was generally free and open. A culture of diverse and active free expression existed online and is protected by the Constitution which provides for everyone having the right to freedom of expression which specifically includes freedom of the press and other media and the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas. ICT development, however, continues to be constrained as a result of an earlier government decision to divide the communications portfolio into two departments. Concerns were expressed about the potential for censorship in two Bills being processed through Parliament, namely the Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill and the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. Media freedom faces an uncertain future in 2018 with the pending legislation on the Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill and the restrictions contained in the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill raising concerns. The Cybercrimes and Cyber Security Bill has an important role in combating cybercrime which resulted in South Africa having the third highest number of cybercrime victims in the world, but some of the provisions criminalise what many would regard as unexceptional online behaviour. The Hate Crimes Bill expands the definition of hate speech so that some legitimate expressions are criminalised. It also plans to monitor electronic forms of communication and this, together with proposed amendments to the Film and Publications Act, has the potential to stifle legitimate expression. The urge to regulate social media and blogs is strong and this, seen together with the other legislation referred to, has the potential to adversely affect the country’s internet freedom. But South Africa’s political scene underwent a dramatic change in February 2018 with the resignation of President Jacob Zuma in response to calls for him to step down from the ANC, Opposition members and the public, followed by the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the new President. Ramaphosa is seen as more liberal than Zuma and may take an interest in the effects the two Bills will have on freedom of expression and perhaps reduce their restrictive impact. He is much more attuned to an open society than Zuma was and some members of the ANC who have been calling for Parliament to consider the desirability of introducing a statutory Media Appeals Tribunal which would inevitably usurp the self regulatory functions of the Press Council and exercise unwanted controls over the print media. So This is Democracy? 2017 95