SECTOR 1 1.8 Websites, blogs and other digital platforms are not required to register with or obtain permission, from state authorities In Mozambique, there is no compulsory requirement to register websites, blogs or other digital platforms. However, in terms of the Law on Electronic Transactions (Law nº 03/2017 of 9 January) every person, physical or legal, single or collective, having residence in Mozambique can freely request that their website be registered under the .mz domain, for which the request must be submitted to the National Institute for Information and Communication Technologies (INTIC). INTIC is the regulating entity for information and communication technologies. For all purposes, there is no obligation for individuals or legal entities based in Mozambique to register their websites under the .mz domain. 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: Score of previous years: ✓ ✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓ 4.9 2005=n/a; 2007=n/a; 2009=5.0; 2011=2.6; 2014=4.8 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 In the opinion of some panellists, there are strong indications – derived from the inexplicable blocking or content manipulation of certain private bodies – that in fact blocking and manipulation of web content occurs in the country, although nobody knows who is doing it. Some say that relevant public authorities can do it if they wish, but proof of this capability was never shown. By the same token, in recent years the state undertook a huge investment in the security sector, centred in communications. The Law of the State Security and Information Service (SISE – Serviço de Informação e Segurança do Estado) was changed in 2012 to allow telephone tapping without a judge’s authorisation. Although these statements rely on information never officially confirmed, it is a 19 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MOZAMBIQUE 2018