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Journalists in South Sudan have raised an urgent alarm over a newly enacted cybersecurity law, fearing it will be used as a tool further to erode press freedom in the world’s youngest nation.
Signed into law this week by President Salva Kiir, the legislation arrives amid a volatile backdrop of renewed political tensions and ethnic hostilities.
Many media professionals argue that the law mimics the restrictive nature of existing national security statutes, which have historically been used to justify the arrest and harassment of reporters since the country gained independence in 2011.
The specifics of the legislation have drawn intense scrutiny due to the broad and subjective language used to define criminal acts.
Under the new rules, anyone found publishing information deemed “false” or “inappropriate” with the intent to defame or mislead faces up to five years in prison.
Investigative journalists are particularly concerned that exposing government corruption could now be conveniently classified as “harmful communication,” allowing officials to silence critics under the guise of maintaining national security.
Furthermore, the law grants authorities the power to intercept electronic communications, significantly increasing the risk of state surveillance on the press.
In defence of the move, government officials have characterised the law as a “historic” milestone designed to protect national infrastructure and citizens from digital threats.
Government spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny emphasised that the legislation targets individual abuses rather than legitimate journalism, arguing that personal insults do not constitute protected speech.
However, this stance was complicated by recent comments from the Deputy Information Minister, who publicly advised journalists to “adopt the language” of the government to avoid running into “problems” with the law.
South Sudan’s media environment is already considered one of the most challenging in the world, with the nation ranking 109th out of 180 on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
Reporters have long navigated a landscape marked by unlawful interference and a lack of accountability for violence against the press.
For many in the media community, this new cybersecurity framework is not a step toward modernising the nation’s digital safety but rather a strategic expansion of state control at a time when public scrutiny of the government is most needed.
