Penplusbyte, a non-profit group, has urged the federal government to overview legal guidelines combating misinformation and disinformation for better effectiveness.
It additionally known as for improved implementation of the Proper to Info Act (RTI), Act 2019, to make sure well timed disclosures and scale back misinformation.
The attraction adopted a examine supported by the Open Authorities Partnership (OGP), which revealed that current legal guidelines lack relevance to present traits.
Key frameworks reviewed included the Legal Offences Act (1960), the 1992 Structure, the Digital Communications Act (2008), the Cybersecurity Act (2020), and the RTI Act (2019).
Presenting the findings of the examine at a Multistakeholder Convention on Combating Misinformation and Disinformation in Ghana in Accra, on Friday, Professor Abena Yeboah-Banin, Lead Researcher, said that the majority present legal guidelines weren’t initially designed to fight misinformation and disinformation.
Reasonably, she defined, that they had been repurposed to handle this new problem, which suggests they lack “the foreign money” to sort out the phenomenon successfully.
She highlighted the instance of the Legal Offences Act, enacted in 1960, which was launched earlier than the web and social media grew to become main drivers of misinformation.
“… we’re coping with a difficulty that’s occurring now and has so many nuances, together with even the position of AI in producing and spreading misinformation and disinformation.
“And so how suited these current legal guidelines are to addressing the problem we have now on the desk is likely one of the queries that we raised out of our findings,” she added.
Prof. Yeboah-Banin additionally raised issues about imprecise phrases like “concern and panic,” which she mentioned have been exploited to focus on dissenting voices.
She known as for readability to guard freedom of speech and really helpful establishing a non-partisan ombudsman to evaluate mis/disinformation circumstances earlier than prosecution.
Prof. Yeboah-Banin urged the federal government to pursue a regional harmonized authorized framework by way of the African Union to carry tech and social media giants accountable.
Madam Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, Minister of State for Public Sector Reforms, affirmed the federal government’s dedication to combating mis/disinformation, citing vital efforts taken over time to offer very important data to Ghanaians.
These embody publishing price range and expenditure information on-line and strengthening establishments just like the Fee on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Financial and Organised Crime Workplace (EOCO).
“We should stay steadfast in our pursuit of governance reforms, safeguarding each citizen’s proper to know and take part in shaping our nation’s future,” she mentioned.
Mr. Jerry Sam, Govt Director of Penplusbyte, advocated for media and digital literacy to enrich fact-checking efforts.
He proposed civil penalties for spreading misinformation as a substitute of legal punishment to guard particular person rights.
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