The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an urgent review of South Sudan’s new cybercrimes law, which punishes defamation with up to five years in prison, criminalizes speech on overly broad grounds, and fails to protect whistleblowers and public interest reporting.
CPJ, in a press release on Thursday, noted that human rights activists have raised concerns that the law could criminalize legitimate online activity and be misused to further restrict press freedom.
The South Sudanese authorities have maintained that the law was intended to address online fraud and digital harassment.
CPJ quoted South Sudanese human rights activist and researcher James Bidal, saying that the Act’s vague definitions of “false or misleading information” (Section 44) and “undesirable content” (Section 42) leave journalists and other citizens in a dangerous position of “legal uncertainty,” as these terms can be interpreted subjectively by authorities.
“In its current form, the Act presents a risk of potential misuse and self-censorship,” Bidal, who is head of the Secretariat for the South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN), was quoted as saying.
President Salva Kiir signed the Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Act, 2026, into law on February 18, replacing the Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Provisional Order, 2021.
“South Sudan’s 2026 cybercrimes law is fundamentally flawed. Not only does it increase the jail sentences for defamation and false news, but it also contains myriad poorly crafted provisions that leave it open to abusive interpretation,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo.
“South Sudanese authorities need to go back to the drawing board to enact a law that addresses legitimate cybercrime concerns without undermining freedom of expression or making it even more difficult for journalists to do their jobs.”
South Sudan’s 2008 Penal Code already punishes defamation with up to two years in prison and/or a fine.
Imprisoning journalists for causing reputational damage is incompatible with international human rights standards. Both the United Nations and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recommend the decriminalization of defamation.
and then