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The newly signed Cyber Security Pact with China is cause for concern about South Africa’s attitude towards restrictions on internet freedom and cyber surveillance of internet users.

I have therefore written to Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele, asking for details of the terms of the deal he signed this week with the People’s Republic of China’s Industry and Information Technology Minister, Miao Wei.

China has earned a reputation for suppressing freedom of expression of its citizens by clamping down on social media sites, erecting firewalls to restrict citizens’ access to news and information from outside sources, and mounting cyber-attacks on Western corporations.  This is not a regime South Africa needs to align too closely with if we seek to be an active and trusted online trading partner worldwide and champion the freedom of access to information and expression championed in our Constitution.

South Africa’s dubious attitude to international norms of human rights exercised through the internet is compounded by the signing of this pact – the first known deal of its kind since Minister Cwele took office a year ago.

In the United Nations (UN), which is one of the internal forums where citizen-centric internet rights are being championed, South Africa has been reticent to endorse initiatives that protect rights of citizens against state surveillance.

In March, South Africa was unable to “associate itself with the text” of a resolution establishing a Special Rapporteur on internet privacy that was initiated by BRICS partner Brazil and Germany, so declined support. Saudi Arabia, hardly a bastion of protecting citizens’ freedoms, also did not support the UN resolution, which was passed by the majority of the member states.

The South African government has been reticent to share with the public its strategy and initiatives in the spheres of cyber security and internet governance. The fact that its pact with China is its first ‘outing’ of its vision in this sphere is alarming. South Africans must know the details of this pact and gain clear insight into how it will affect our internet usages and privacy.

Issued by DA