Circulating Cyber Security bill reflects gov’t’s true intentions

The Member of Parliament for Walewale and a member of Parliament’s Communications Committee, Dr. Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, has stated that the alleged draft bill purportedly seeking to regulate online speech—though not yet formally before Parliament—clearly reflects the government’s intention to control digital communication.

His comments come amid growing political debate over the alleged draft legislation, which the Minority in Parliament has criticised as an attempt by government to criminalise free expression online.

According to the Minority, the proposed bill aims to make it an offence to post or share comments in online groups that could be deemed offensive or inciteful—a move they argue stems from President John Dramani Mahama’s directive to track the IP addresses of individuals spreading hate speech or inciting violence.

The Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi and former Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has also cautioned that the proposal represents a dangerous encroachment on freedom of speech.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Monday, October 27, Dr. Kabiru Mahama confirmed that he has seen and read the document circulating online but clarified that it has not been formally submitted to the Select Committee on Information and Communication.

“First and foremost, it’s a rumour mill in the sense that a document is in circulation. I have seen and read the document. That document has not formally been presented to the committee—that is, the select committee on information and communication,” he noted.

Despite the lack of a formal presentation, Dr. Kabiru Mahama said the statements and actions of key government officials—including the President and the Minister of Communication—lend the document significant credibility.

“But that said, we have had the President hinting on it anyway, we have had the minister speaking to that particular document. Suffice to say that it means that it is a reflection or a suggestion of the intended position of the government, and that much as it is not a formal document before the House or before the committee, we can treat it with all the seriousness it deserves,” he explained.

He further noted that the level of attention the document has drawn from both the executive and the public means it cannot be dismissed outright.

“To the extent that the minister is responding to people on social media on it, to the extent that the minister is commenting on it, to the extent that it comes on the back of the fact that the President had signaled his intention to bring such a bill, I can say that it carries some bit of weight.
“So we can’t just jettison it because we feel it hasn’t been properly laid before the committee or before Parliament,” Dr. Mahama said.

Read also