Human Rights Watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has issued a release concerning Trinidad and Tobago, in which the organisation notes the government’s announcement that legislation will be drafted to permit the government to monitor social media networks to “ensure they are not being abused and misused by persons who have hidden agendas and sinister and malicious motives to incite persons and to use it to form gangs of their own.”
Below is the full release from EFF:
Since August 21, parts of Trinidad & Tobago have been under a state of emergency, enacted in response to a recent crime wave. Citizens’ rights to freedom of movement, assembly, association, speech, and privacy are affected by elements of the country’s Emergency Powers Regulations.
News this week has circulated around a video in which a 14-year-old girl, responding to the declaration of a State of Emergency and accompanying curfew restrictions, threatened Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. According to Trinidad & Tobago’s CTV, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan responded to the incident by suggesting that laws will be brought to parliament to regulate and monitor the use of social networks:
“I have in fact asked the Acting Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Mr. Cuthbert Jolly, and the Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Mr. Samraj Harripaul, to undertake an immediate assignment with a view to drafting laws to take to Parliament, to deal with the regulation and monitoring of the social networking sites to ensure (they) are not being abused and misused by persons who have hidden agendas and sinister and malicious motives to incite persons and to use it to form gangs of their own.”
They have been monitoring the social media all the time. Now they get the excuse to regulate it by law. They are trying to nip the ‘Caribbean Spring’ in the bud.
soon human beings will be like cattle on a farm…. everything is used as an excuse to invade peoples privacy….. if these high ranking officials would act honorably there would be no need for all this…. people would go about their business everyday without even thinking of what the powers that be are up to…. but unfortunately this is not so.. so is espionage and counter espionage….hmmm my rassssss
While I agree with part of your response, the part citing the manner in which public officials should act. There is always the minuscule few that will always attempt to manipulate certain aspects of the media for their particular agenda. Again I say ( that is my opinion), that social media is an open forum and therefore whatever goes on There is public domain, open to monitoring. If you have anything to hide don’t post there!