Online defamatory speech outlawed in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's Parliament has approved a law to imprison anyone who distributes defamatory speech, pornography and spam online. A report on the News24 site notes that bloggers and activists believe the measure is meant to silence dissent. The most severe sentence of 10 years' imprisonment is earmarked for the distribution of pornography. Ethiopia's cybersecurity officials have said the country is subject to more than 1 000 cyber attacks a day, and the government has said the new law will enable it to prosecute such crimes more efficiently.