Things have been less than fun with respect to freedom of speech and freedom of expression in the landlocked central African country of Ethiopia in recent years. And they just got worse. Because now a simple 30-second Skype call could land you in jail.

A 30-second call using Skype in Ethiopia can land you a 15-year prison sentence, thanks to new legislation passed by the country’s government back in late May.

In fact, the headline is somewhat of a “white lie”, because the new legislation will in fact criminalise the use of all Voice Over IP (VoIP) services from within Ethiopia.

International media seems to have missed the development that essentially does the job of closing a loophole that was allowing some Ethiopians to communicate without being monitored by authorities.

According to Al Jazeera, explanations seem to be that there was a perceived threat to national security, and a concern that Skype was hurting the state-owned, and sole, telecommunications carrier, Ethio Teleco.

Basically, the new legislation empowers the state-owned telecom to prohibit the use of VoIP services, video chatting, social media, e-mail, and any other data transfer service capable of communicating information.

The law will also give the government the right to examine any imported voice communication equipment.

It will also have the power to ban any inbound packages that don’t have prior permission from the state, says Al Jazeera.

It looks like anyone in the country who uses an illegal phone service will face a maximum 15 years in jail, and possible heavy fines. Though, it looks likely that three to eight years, plus fines, will be the standard.

We were wondering how authorities would react if we were caught using “two cans and a string” to have a conversation.

But we’re not willing to give that a go.

[Source: AlJazeera]