President of National Cybersecurity Committee Resigns Amid Controversy

Didier Sam-Fat has resigned from his position as president of the National Cybersecurity Committee, effective Friday morning, November 1. In an interview with lemauricien.com, Sam-Fat expressed his frustration with recent decisions made by the committee and a prolonged dispute with Technology Minister Deepak Balgobin, which he stated has been ongoing for three months.

Sam-Fat criticized a recent directive from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), mandating all telecommunications operators to temporarily suspend access to social media platforms until November 11.

“I said enough is enough; this is catastrophic. Entrepreneurs who rely on social media for their businesses are suffering directly from this decision,” he lamented.

The former president also condemned the role of the ICTA, pointing out that telecommunications operators are left with no option but to comply with the authority’s directives.

“They have no choice,” he said, adding that as a citizen, he finds the situation disheartening and alarming.

For context, the ICTA has justified the social media suspension by alleging the presence of “illegal publications” on these platforms, which they claim could potentially undermine “national security” and “public safety.”

Source: Le Mauricien