SECTOR 1

Forum recommended the inclusion of online news publications and blogs in
the media law. Draft amendments to the 1990 Law on the Freedom of Social
Communication will bring online news publications under the same regulatory
framework as newspapers. This would place the creation of websites and blogs
under a declaration, rather than licencing, regime. Even so, legal experts expect
the planned law to face major challenges. Some of the websites and blogs
considered Cameroonian are hosted and run from outside the country and may
not be bound by national legislation

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country meets only a few aspects of indicator

3

Country meets some aspects of indicator

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator

Average score:

4.5 (2008=n/a; 2011=4.2)

1.9 The state does not seek to block or filter Internet
content unless in accordance with laws that provide
for restrictions that serve a legitimate interest and are
necessary in a democratic society, and which are applied by independent courts.
Amid growing public anger as a result of rising food prices and plans to remove
presidential term limits from the country’s constitution, as well as the popular
uprisings driven by social-media in Tunisia and Egypt, authorities in Cameroon
ordered the mobile telephone operator MTN to block the delivery of Twitter feeds
in 2008. Since then, Cameroon has not made any real attempt to block or filter
internet content. Nonetheless, authorities routinely monitor internet content and
seek to control it. In 2013, for example, several people were arrested in Yaounde,
accused of illegally setting up and running Facebook pages representing public
officials and institutions. In the absence of clear regulations - apart from the
law on cybercrime and cyber security - authorities use their own discretion to
undertake such actions.
The police force is currently recruiting officers with ICT skills. Analysts describe
the move as evidence that security forces desire to have better control of web
content and other forms of electronic information networks. Specialised officers

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER CAMEROON 2014

89

Select target paragraph3