Blog #8: Malawi and the Surveillance State

By: Sam Whitty

           

            With increased implementation of technology in both the government and the private sector, Malawi is working hard to catch up to the rest of the world. Currently, it does not have the infrastructure for a robust technological market. Malawi is only ranked 168 out of 175 countries in the 2016 edition of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Global ICT Development Index (2). In the future however, Malawi is planning to develop its market for technology to revolutionize the country. They cannot do it alone, however. In 2017, the World Bank released $72.4 million to help Malawi connect to the global digital market, and investments into technology are becoming more widespread as time goes on. While a technological future for Malawi may sound like welcome progress for the nation, it comes with troubling consequences. Because Malawi is late to use technologies widespread, the government must be responsible and learn from other nations about how they should regulate it.

            The biggest issue associated with the rise of technology in the country is the security risks associated with giving private information out to businesses and the government. For example, the government created legislation that enacted the first national ID in 2016 (1). Until recently, a majority of Malawians did not have a passport or a driver’s license. For this reason, they did not have any way to identify themselves. With the increased use of online banking, however, the need for identification was suddenly much higher because banks demanded an ID to make transactions. Suddenly, within the span of one generation, about half of the population has willingly given out their personal information to the government. While this may seem normal, it is a worrying concession to a government that has not always shown integrity or respect for human rights in the past. The privacy of personal information shared with the government is not guaranteed. Even worse, the government may start using this personal information to create a surveillance state like that of China.

            While the Malawian government is not known to be using its citizens’ personal information against them in a surveillance state, its laws and regulations of the internet suggest that the government is willing to sacrifice personal freedom for the good of the state. While the Malawi constitution allows for freedom of expression, the government has enacted many laws that restrict what citizens can say on the internet. One such law, the Protected Flag, Emblems, and Names Act, makes it illegal to “do any act or utter any words or publish or utter any writing calculated to insult, ridicule or to show disrespect” to the President, the national flag, armorial ensigns, the public seal or any other protected emblem or likeness (3). This law includes anything published online. This authoritarian policy has led to people being imprisoned for Facebook posts insulting the president. While these laws are obviously against human rights, when it was recommended by Ghana that Malawi “decriminalize defamation and incorporate this into the Civil Code”, Malawi refused to support this. Instead, the recommendation was only “noted”.

            Malawi’s record on human rights is very troubling when other nations have started to use technology to control the population. Without intervention, it is possible that Malawi will follow in their footsteps. Just like how the West was oblivious to how Google was selling our information and using it to control us until recently, Malawians are oblivious to how the government may potentially do the same. Their willingness to give out their personal information to the Malawi government may prove unwise if the government moves away from democracy and towards a more authoritarian regime. 

Works Cited

Are Malawians Sleep-Walking into a Surveillance State? (2019, August 13). CIPESA. https://cipesa.org/2019/08/are-malawians-sleep-walking-into-a-surveillance-state/

Digitizing Malawi for a Brighter Digital Future. (2017, June 5). World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/06/05/digitizing-malawi-for-a-brighter-digital-future

Malawi’s Democracy and Digital Rights Record to be Spotlighted by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. (2020, February 24). CIPESA. https://cipesa.org/2020/02/malawis-democracy-and-digital-rights-record-to-be-spotlighted-by-the-human-rights-council-of-the-united-nations/