Gambian Lawmakers Pass Legislation Seen to Likely Cripple Online Liberties

(PRWEB) September 10, 2013

In a report on the 4th of July 2013 by the African Review (http://www.africareview.com/News/Gambia+passes+law+to+tame+online+activism/-/979180/1904996/-/f74vrg/-/index.html), the Gambian National Assembly is said to have passed a bill that might cripple online free expression. As reported, media analysts are said to believe that the amendment was meant to harshly deal with online journalists, bloggers and social media activists and, hopefully, occasion the demise of online publications in the country led by President Yahya Jammeh.

According to the report, the bill criminalizes the spread of false news against the government or public officials, imposing a 15 year jail term and/ or a fine of D3 Million on persons found guilty of doing just that.

As quoted in The African Review report, Fatou Jagne Senghore, Article 19 Regional Representative for West Africa said, “The Gambia is at odds with all its international commitments on free expression.”

“People need space to speak out and contribute without fear to the public debate and the media will only be able to play its critical role if the legal and physical security of journalists and human rights defenders is adequately guaranteed,” she added.

ProXPN sees this as a big blow to the freedoms of expression of the Gambian people and goes to further encourage the use of VPN technology like the ProXPN VPN which provides amongst other services the ability to retain identity anonymity while utilizing the internet.

Through such services, the user gets an exclusive, secluded section to interact on while on the internet, securing the user even further from such location based restrictions and also guarantees a stress-free online experience.

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Founded in 2009, proXPN is a leading VPN provider. Unlike other services they offer free accounts. Unlike the SaaS standard practice of time-based free trials, a proXPN free VPN account lasts for life and is limited only by connection speed. proXPN Premium account users enjoy unlimited connection speeds as well as advanced features such as PPTP compatibility for mobile devices and VPN Guard™, proXPN’s method of cutting all data transfer should the VPN connection fail, ensuring all data is encrypted during transmission even if there’s a system error. proXPN’s firm stance on the importance of individual privacy and security online mirrors public sentiment expressed during debates over SOPA and PIPA.

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