SECTOR 1 1.2 The right to freedom of expression is practised and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their rights without fear. There was consensus that only a small portion of civil society in general and journalists in particular feel free to express themselves. Most feel intimidated by the draconian anti-media laws that exist in Tanzania, as well as by the powerful interests of the owners of the various media houses, be they state- or privately run. “With the new Statistics Act and the Cybercrimes Act, citizens will be even more fearful of expressing themselves.” The uptake in recent years of the use of social media in Tanzania has provided a new platform for journalists and members of civil society, especially, to express themselves more freely on various issues. “As long as you are a citizen, you can say what you like, until your voice becomes too amplified, and then you become the focus of the state and unseen forces come into play.” The Cybercrimes Act, however, appears likely to empower the state to control this popular platform for free expression: the internet, and social media in particular. This Act is seen as the Tanzanian government’s reaction to the Arab Spring of 2010, and its attempt to avert a similar uprising of citizens by clamping down on freedom of expression. “Generally, freedom of expression (in traditional media) is only restricted if it touches on certain subject matters, such as politics.” In January 2015, the circulation of the privately owned regional weekly newspaper, The EastAfrican, was banned in Tanzania, ostensibly because of its lack of registration as required by the 1976 Newspaper Act, although those in the media fraternity believe it was banned because of its critical coverage of Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. The EastAfrican is published by the Kenyanbased Nation Media Group and had been circulating in Tanzania for 20 years. Journalists and vocal civil society activists do operate in a hostile environment in which they are regularly intimidated, threatened or even physically attacked. Staff members of a non-governmental organisation, for example, while informing communities of their legal or human rights, were intimidated by a regional commissioner and the police “because the authorities were unhappy with what we were doing”. 14 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Tanzania 2015