Southern Africa: Angola Criminalizes False Information On the Internet

Luanda — Individuals who disseminate false information online in Angola will now face civil and criminal liability under the law governing this matter, which officially came into force on Tuesday.

The Law Against False Information on the Internet, which came into force with its publication in the Official Gazette, on the 4th of this month, was approved last May by the National Assembly and promulgated, two months later, by President João Lourenço.

The diploma establishes preventive measures and accountability for the production or dissemination of false information on the Internet that violates the rights to good name, honor, reputation, image, privacy of private and family life, protection of the democratic process and State and Justice secrets.

The Law prescribes prison sentences ranging from one to three years for disseminating false information; three to eight years when the content incites hatred or attacks the good name and reputation of individuals or institutions; and up to 10 years when it compromises state processes or security.

Initiated by the Executive branch, the legislation also prescribes an asymmetric liability model for digital platforms, requiring them to implement transparency mechanisms and remove content, or else face liability.

Under the new Law, the expression of opinion, critical assessment of public acts or policies, and the dissemination of satirical or parodic content do not constitute false information for sanctioning purposes--unless accompanied by objective elements indicating the falsification of facts and malicious intent.

Administrative Offenses

The administrative offenses provided for in the Law are categorized as minor, serious, and very serious.

For serious offenses, fines for individuals range from four to 50 national minimum wages, while fines for legal entities range from 10 to a maximum of 100 national minimum wages. For very serious administrative offenses committed by an individual, the penalty ranges from 20 to 200 national minimum wages, whereas for a legal entity, the amount ranges from 40 to 400 national minimum wages. DC/DOJ

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