The measure is expressed in the proposed Law on the Dissemination of False Information on the Internet, an initiative of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, drawn up in March and to which Lusa had access this Monday.
The legislative initiative states that the Constitution of the Republic of Angola (CRA) safeguards the freedoms of expression and information of all citizens, respecting the limits of everyone's right to a good name, honour, reputation, image and the privacy of private and family life, among others.
According to the legal diploma, already considered by the Council of Ministers, infractions committed in the exercise of freedom of expression and information make their author subject to disciplinary, civil and criminal liability under the terms of the law and the CRA.
Authorities say they have registered a "significant and high number of fake news in the current national and international context, associated with high technological growth" and, consequently, the expansion of new social communication platforms.
"This requires the existence of a legal framework to regulate fake news (...), since there is a notable insufficiency in this regulatory perspective", the document highlights.
They consider that there is an "urgent need" to adapt a "sufficiently comprehensive and integrated" legal approach to false information occurring on the internet in Angola, where the spread of fake news "has become much faster and more effective and traditional legal tools are not sufficient to combat the phenomenon of 'fake news'".
In this proposed law, rights and "transparency mechanisms" are established in the use of social networks and the internet, "aiming to discourage the dissemination of fake news and protecting the data of its users".
Strengthening the democratic process by combating disinformation and promoting diversity of information on the internet in Angola, holding digital platforms accountable for their disinformation policies and seeking to increase transparency rates regarding paid content made available to users are among the objectives of the law.
On the other hand, it aims to discourage the use of fake accounts to spread misinformation on internet applications, the text says.
The government initiative also establishes criminal liability, classified as the crime of disseminating false information.
Anyone who intentionally disseminates false information on the internet and causes significant harm to public order, fundamental rights, individual integrity or national security is punished with a sentence of one to five years, if they cause a disturbance of public order or harm administrative processes.
The proposal also provides for a sentence of three to eight years, when the dissemination of false information incites hatred, violence, discrimination, honor or good name. It also provides for a sentence of four to ten years in prison when false information compromises national security or the integrity of electoral processes.
The penalties applicable to the crime of disseminating false information are increased by up to one third in the event of a repeat offense under the Penal Code, the use of fake accounts or artificial disseminators to amplify disinformation, and the involvement of public officials in the crime.
The diploma indicates that the law is applicable "even if the activities are carried out by a person residing or based abroad, as long as the false information is disseminated to the target audience in the national territory or to members of the same economic group that has representation in Angola".
