The Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations, 2020 (GN No. 538 of 2020) (Tanzania)

The Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations, 2020 (Government Notice No. 538, published 17 July 2020) are subsidiary legislation made under the Electronic and Postal Communications Act (EPOCA) and administered by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). They replaced the 2018 Online Content Regulations and came into force on publication; they were further amended in 2025. For digital rights they are among the most consequential instruments in Tanzania because they directly regulate who may publish online and what may be published. The Regulations require online content service providers, including bloggers, online forums, streaming services and operators of websites and social-media platforms offering content services, to hold a licence issued by the TCRA, subject to application and annual fees. They impose obligations on internet service providers and online platforms to police content, to remove 'prohibited content' (defined in a schedule covering a broad range of material, including content deemed to cause annoyance, threaten public order or national security, or constitute 'false' information), and to retain records and cooperate with the authorities. Failure to comply can result in fines, licence suspension and criminal penalties. This entry is included in the Digital Rights collection as a content-regulation and platform-liability instrument. The Regulations have been criticised by ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists and others as imposing licensing and content-control requirements that are incompatible with freedom of expression and that were used to suppress information during the COVID-19 pandemic and around elections. The breadth of the 'prohibited content' schedule and the discretion it vests in the regulator are the principal concerns. The oversight mechanism should not be overstated: enforcement is exercised by the TCRA, an executive regulator, with content-takedown and licensing powers and limited independent or judicial check at first instance; appeals lie to the Fair Competition Tribunal and the courts. The Regulations operate alongside, and reinforce, the Cybercrimes Act 2015 (to which this entry is cross-referenced) and the constitutional provisions on expression and information (Articles 16 and 18).

1. 1Require online content service providers (including bloggers and platforms) to hold a TCRA licence with application and annual fees
2. 2Impose duties on ISPs and platforms to monitor, restrict and remove 'prohibited content' set out in a broad schedule
3. 3Define prohibited content widely, including 'false' information and content said to threaten public order or national security or cause annoyance
4. 4Provide for record-keeping, cooperation with authorities, and penalties of fines, licence suspension and criminal liability for non-compliance
5. 5Enforced by the TCRA (executive regulator); appeals to the Fair Competition Tribunal and courts
6. 6Replaced the 2018 Regulations; published as GN 538 of 17 July 2020 and amended in 2025; criticised by ARTICLE 19 and CPJ as incompatible with freedom of expression