Following pressure from media lobby groups such MISA Mozambique, in 2020 the government was forced to repeal decree 40/2018, which imposed a regime of fees and a restrictive system for the licensing, renewal and accreditation of both local and foreign journalists. The Constitutional Council had met the previous week and ruled the government decree unconstitutional. MISA Mozambique and other civil society groups continue to push for the government to ensure that journalists enjoy unfettered freedoms that are enshrined in the constitution. SURVEILLANCE AND PRIVACY OF ONLINE COMMUNICATION Mozambique’s Penal Code was revised in 2019 to include provisions that outlaw invasion of privacy. The new Code outlawed interception, recording, transmission or disclosure of online communications that include emails, messages, audio visuals and social media content without consent. There are penalties against anyone who “captures, photographs, films, manipulates, records or disseminates images of persons or of intimate objects or spaces or secretly observes or listens to persons who are in a private place”. However, there were credible reports in 2016 that the government of Mozambique was intercepting communication by private citizens and snooping on online communications with the help of a Chinese company. The government has also made massive investments in public and mass surveillance technologies without supporting legislation. any Journalists and politicians feel more and more controlled and watched, be it from phone tapping or data invasion. INDEPENDENT CONTENT PRODUCERS Mozambique’s independent content producers received a major boost in January 2022 when South African entertainment company MultiChoice launched a new Lusuphone channel to absorb locally produced content. The Portuguese language channel Maningue Magic will show local dramas, soaps, reality shows, music, comedies and some international content. There is also scope for independent content producers to supply locally owned television stations with local productions to ensure their own survival. STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 45 MEDIA REGULATION