In Malawi, the government has drafted a law, the E-Bill, which seeks to regulate and control online communications including social media networks in the country. The bill would require that editors of online publications make known their names, domiciles and telephone numbers in addition to other information.

The E-Bill further introduces the concept of government-appointed cyber-inspectors who would have the power to, among other duties, monitor and inspect any website or activity on an information system in the public domain and report any unlawful activity to the regulatory authority.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a regional body protecting the interest of media organizations in Southern Africa, has issued an alert condemning the moves to clamp down on Internet publications.

"This isn't a positive trend at all," said MISA regional program specialist for media freedom, monitoring and evaluation Levi Kabwato in a statement. "Issues of Internet freedom and freedom of expression in cyberspace are rather new to the region and that partly explains the discomfort of both the Zambian and Malawi governments who may be frustrated at their lack of control over what is published online," Kabwato said.

Kabwato said that governments in the region must recognize that the online publishing phenomenon is not only irreversible, but more importantly, beneficial to the promotion and protection of democracy.