The Council of Ministers held what is said to be its 22nd regular meeting on Wednesday. It discussed issues including the management and use of classified information in the country.
According to a report by EBC, state media, the government believed that it is necessary to legislate confidential (secret) government information, the management and use of it, and to legislate the rights and obligations of government authorities in the management and use of secret information.
It was said that no system is in place to exchange confidential information via electronic means and government officials have been using unverified technology to share information. That, the government said, compromises national security and endangered sovereignty.
The reason that the legislation is needed is to avert that and establish transparency and accountability in the management and use of classified information.
The government justified the move towards legislating classified information with the aim to prevent that classified information from being missing, illegally transferred, or altered, and that it gets protection.
A draft bill from the Council of Ministers is prepared and tabled at the parliament, the source added. It is to be implemented after it is discussed in the parliament and published on Negarit Gazetta.
The Council of Ministers also discussed Information Technology products security verification and quality control draft legislation. This one is intended to, according to the EBC report, protect and inspect information technology products entering Ethiopia and those who are leaving the country. The focus is to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on national intelligence.
The parliament will also discuss this.
This week, it was reported that the Ethiopian government lifted restrictions on social media usage and the internet in the country.
Source : Borkena
