Some of the key findings from the survey completed by 90 journalists and bloggers across southern Africa were: • Nearly 60% of respondents said they are aware of privacy laws and regulations in their countries. • Almost 60% of respondents suspect their communication devices have come under threat from spyware or malware, and most believe their government was the perpetrator. • At least 10% of the respondents were attacked for their cyber work, mainly in the form of insulting emails and comments via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Some of those respondents said it was government ministers in their respective countries who threatened them. • 43% of the respondents were not aware of the privacy laws in their country. Access to information – examining progress in Africa MISA, in collaboration with its African regional partners, published a booklet ‘Access to Information – examining progress in Africa’, providing a basic assessment on the state of access to information in 14 countries on the continent, using the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI) Declaration as its benchmark. MISA is encouraged by what seems to be a growing recognition on the continent for citizens to claim their right to information, supported by the crafting of a model Access to Information (ATI) Law by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). A good number of countries have adopted the model and have gone on to design their own law, which is either before their respective Parliaments as a Bill or has been signed and become law. The study formed part of an ongoing project, through which MISA aims to help media workers protect themselves online. This includes contributing to the development of the draft African Declaration for Internet Rights and Freedoms, to address the now critical questions being asked about how the Internet environment can be cultivated to best meet Africa’s social and economic development needs and goals. Criminal defamation and insult laws in southern Africa In 2013, MISA finalised its research papers on the application of criminal defamation and insult laws in Malawi and Zambia. Both papers form part of an overall regional review, which will extensively examine the use of laws that criminalise free speech and will be used to inform national campaigns in both countries. MISA launched these research papers in Malawi and Zambia respectively on 28 September 2013, the International Right to Know Day. 21