in law, as established by the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, shall extend to the proactive release of such information on the Internet in openly licensed, freely re-useable formats. • Freedom of assembly and association and the internet The Internet can augment the opportunities and capabilities of individuals and groups to form associations and to manage organisations and associations. It can increase the membership and reach of associations by allowing groups of people to communicate despite physical boundaries. It provides new tools for those organising assemblies offline, as well as the possibility of conducting assemblies and protests online. • Right to development and access to knowledge Developing media and information literacy is essential in ensuring that consumers of media products have the skills to find evaluate and engage with various types of information, including those relevant for their social, economic, cultural and political development. Information and communication technologies should be designed, developed and implemented in a manner that contributes to sustainable human development and empowerment. Accordingly, policies should be adopted to create an environment which enables various actors to pursue initiatives in this regard. Hence, everyone should enjoy unrestricted access to the Internet. Any shutting down or blocking of access to social networking platforms, and in fact the Internet in general, constitutes a direct interference with this right. Free and open access to the Internet must therefore be protected at all times. Media and information literacy programmes should be instituted in schools and in other public institutions. Where practical, school children and other learners should have access to Internet-enabled devices. There is also a need for policies that improve girls’ access to quality education and ICT, gender mainstreaming in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) policies, and familyfriendly policies in STEM workplaces. • Cultural and linguistic diversity • Privacy and personal data protection The linguistic and cultural diversity which exists on the African continent must be promoted and reflected online. This requires states to put in place comprehensive policies, and allocation of resources, to support the development and use of tools to facilitate linguistic diversity on the Internet. This includes the promotion of technology and content required to access and use domain names, software, services and content in all languages and scripts. Special attention should be given to promoting access in minority languages. Personal data or information shall only be collected and/or processed by states and non-state actors such as access providers, mail providers, hosts and other intermediaries, in compliance with wellestablished data protection principles, including the following: personal data or information must be processed fairly and lawfully; personal data or information must be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes; personal data or information must not be excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed; and personal data or information must be deleted when no longer necessary for the purposes for which it is collected. There is a need to promote free or low-cost training opportunities and methodologies and materials for minority-language speakers on using the Internet. Diversity of content should also be preserved and promoted, including by encouraging diverse groups and communities to share their content online and through the digitisation of educational, scientific and cultural heritage. The collection, retention, use and disclosure of personal data or information must comply with a transparent privacy policy which allows people to find out what data or information is collected about them, to correct inaccurate information, and to protect such data or information from disclosure that they have not authorised. The public should