SECTOR 1 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: 2.7 (2012 = 3.3; 2010 = 2.0; 2008 = 2.8; 2006 = 2.1) 1.3 There are no laws or parts of laws restricting freedom of expression such as excessive official secrets, libel acts, legal requirements that restrict the entry into the journalistic profession or laws that unreasonably interfere with the functions of media. There are more than 20 laws that curtail freedom of expression in Tanzania and thus impact negatively on the operations of the media. These include the draconian Newspaper Act of 1976 (which empowers the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports to silence critical coverage by outright banning publications), the Prisons Act on 1967 (which prohibits journalists from interviewing prisoners), the National Security Act of 1970 (“a thorn in the side of the media”) and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act of 2007. In addition, the recently passed Cybercrimes Act and the Statistics Act are seen by media stakeholders as not having “been made for the purpose of promoting media freedom, but of restricting it”. The Cybercrimes Act grants the police broad powers of search and seizure, and criminalises the publication online of information that the state deems false or misleading, making it risky for anyone sharing information on social media. A panellist described the Statistics Act as “the ‘election law’ because its intentions appear to be to target, not statistics related to the economy or population, but political statistics”. Entry into the journalistic profession is not restricted by law in Tanzania. The Newspaper Act of 1976 makes no mention of minimum qualifications for journalists. However, journalists needing state access require press cards, which are issued to ‘accredited’ journalists by the Information Services department (accredited by a particular media house or with proof of relevant qualifications). 16 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Tanzania 2015