The executive director of NITA proposed the implementation of an Internet blacklist during a presentation made at the Uganda Internet Governance Forum on Tuesday. He stressed that his purpose was only to gauge public sentiment. He did not openly state a position or mention implementation plans. According to his presentation, the system would initially block child pornography, copyright infringing sites, and terrorist content.
I thought the term "terrorist content" seemed a little vague. I expressed this fear at the meeting and was pleasantly surprised to hear fellow audience members concur. One woman even said she did not want the government parenting her children.
The Ugandan government has, on multiple occasions, shut down radio stations and newspapers for political reasons. They have also attempted (unsuccessfully) to block websites like Facebook and "Tweeter" during periods of social unrest. In other words, the definition of "terrorist content" could easily be stretched to include political speech.
