[5] The Government of the Republic of Tanzania on one side claims that the four Acts were highly needed to facilitate access to information and control the media sector.
The Media Services Act, 2016, was enacted in 2016 by the parliament of the united republic of Tanzania[6] on 5 November 2016 and signed by President John Pombe Magufuli two weeks later.
The expectation of many people was that the Act would become an updated media law adhering to international conventions like the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), the East African Community[7] Treaty and other sources which affect then liberty of citizens to access information.
The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), Legal and Human Right Centre[9] (LHRC), and Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition[10] (THRDC) on 11 January 2017 filed a petition at the East African Court of Justice[11] (EACJ) challenging the newly passed Media Service Act, 2016.
The petition, supported by a team of lawyers from MCT, LHRC and THRDC claims that the Act deprives civil liberties and access to information rights guaranteed under Article 18, subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d) of the Constitution of Tanzania, respectively addressing: