November 2, 2025
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Anti-cybercrime laws are being weaponized to repress journalism
From stopping scams to gagging reporters—where’s the line
TLDR: Governments are using “cybercrime” rules to prosecute journalists, with Nigeria’s Section 24 still jailing people for “false” online posts. The comments explode over where journalism ends and crime begins, blasting vague speech laws and debating whether anti-misinformation rules are protection—or a press muzzle.
A young Nigerian reporter, Daniel Ojukwu, was snatched off a Lagos street and held for days, accused of breaking Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act after writing about alleged presidential corruption—and the comments went nuclear. The crowd split fast: SilverElfin demanded, “Where’s the line between journalism and crime?” while tptacek waved the red flag that these aren’t about hackers at all, but plain old speech restrictions wrapped in “cyber” packaging. Cue a history lesson from dlcarrier, who pointed out how the U.S. has long slapped extra penalties on anything done with phones or computers, and walterbell dropped a spicy side-quest: the U.S. declining to sign a UN cybercrime treaty sparked its own mini-brawl.
The article’s receipts are grim: Nigeria’s notorious Section 24 once criminalized anything “grossly offensive” or even an “annoyance.” Lawmakers tweaked it this year, but it still threatens up to three years in jail for “false” online posts that allegedly endanger public order. Commenters roasted the vagueness—gxs joked that “grossly offensive” is basically “whatever the boss hates,” spawning memes like the “Annoyance Police” and “404: Free Speech Not Found.” Globally, Niger brought back prison terms for electronic “insults,” while Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, and others lean on “fake news” laws. The hottest clash: protecting sources versus enabling crimes. The vibe: governments say they’re fighting scammers; critics say they’re just silencing scoops.
Key Points
- •Nigeria’s 2015 Cybercrime Act has been used to prosecute journalists, including Daniel Ojukwu, for online reporting.
- •Section 24, originally criminalizing 'grossly offensive' or 'annoying' online content, was amended in February 2024 but still penalizes knowingly false communications causing law-and-order breakdown or threats to life, with up to three years’ imprisonment.
- •Agba Jalingo was arrested in 2019 under Section 24 after reporting on alleged corruption; he was later acquitted.
- •Reporters Without Borders warns the law’s vague provisions continue to threaten investigative journalism; over two dozen journalists in Nigeria have faced prosecution under the Act.
- •Similar laws in Niger, Pakistan, Georgia, Turkey, and Jordan have been used to restrict journalism, with Amnesty International noting at least 15 prosecutions under Jordan’s 2023 Cybercrimes Law.