23 SOUTHERN AFRICA PRESS FREEDOM REPORT 2019-2020 meaning that roughly four in each 10 individuals in the continent used the web. By contrast, the global average internet penetration rate was nearly 60 percent. (4) The Alliance for Affordable Internet 2020 Index ranked Southern African countries based on infrastructure and access. The infrastructure indicator shows the extent to which internet infrastructure has been deployed as well as the policy framework in place to encourage infrastructure expansion while access relates to the current broadband adoption rates and the policy framework in place to enable equitable access. In Southern Africa, Tanzania was ranked number eight on the top ten Affordability Drivers Index for Least Developed Countries while Botswana was ranked number 13 on the overall index making it the top country with affordable internet in the region. (6) With regards to social media use by January 2020, Southern Africa was pegged at 36%. (5) Table 1 (7) COUNTRY 1. Botswana 2. Mauritius 3. SA 4. Tanzania 5. Zambia 6. Mozambique 7. Namibia 8. Malawi 9. Zimbabwe 10. Madagascar 11. Angola ADI SCORE 68.72 68.66 61.77 52. 88 48.14 45.16 45.13 42.29 42.03 39.67 39.6 ADI RANKING 13 15 26 41 48 51 52 54 55 57 58 DIGITAL LITERACY Internet access is, however, influenced by several factors which include availability of infrastructure or broadly access to ICTs, affordability and digital literacy as well. The aforementioned critical factors have contributed the development of what has been termed digital divides and these include the location divide, economic divide and gender divide. Digital divide, therefore, refers to uneven access to and distribution of ICTs. In that regard, from the gender aspect, women are disadvantaged with regards to access to and use of ICTs as compared to their male counterparts while people in urban areas have better access to ICTs as compared to people in rural and marginalised communities. The cost of internet also favours high income earners as compared to low income earners. Having discussed issues relating to internet access, digital literacy is another key aspect that is facilitating exercise of digital rights in Southern Africa. Digital literacy has been defined as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills” (8). Digital literacy can, therefore, be viewed as the foundational principles for digital rights and digital citizenship as individuals cannot claim that which they are not literate in the first place. (9) An understanding of digital rights is therefore critical also critical. THREATS TO DIGITAL RIGHTS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS