Perpetrating evil beyond the public glare

THE death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in Iran last month has become a catalyst for protests across that country.

Women, in response to the injustice of her death, have burnt their hijabs in rebellion against the strict clothing laws.

In their attempt to re-establish social order local security forces have clashed with these civilians.

Aside from the police brutality, the Iranian government has imposed an internet blackout to help disrupt the communication channels of those who seek to act in rebellion.

An internet blackout, in the case of Iran, was used as a tool to disrupt communication between rebellious protesters.

The case of Iran is not an isolated one. Internet blackouts have emerged as a state’s apparatus for social order.

In the case of Zimbabwe, the internet blackout in 2019 was meant to help reduce the pandemonium from the protests against rising fuel prices.

Before the blackout, Zimbabwean citizens received communication from the largest telecommunications service provider, Econet.

The narrative which surfaced was that the state wanted to impose a violent crackdown on protesters, but feared a social media backlash.

Many in the diaspora were concerned during this period because nobody knew the extremes the Zimbabwean government would be willing to go to.

The world waited ifor the re-establishment of the internet to learn if Zimbabwean citizens had been harmed.

The UN noted that during this period hundreds of Zimbabweans were jailed and beaten for their protests.

In the aftermath of the protests, according to the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, 68 Zimbabweans were treated for gunshot wounds while more than 100 were treated for stabbings and gashes. Based on this, the internet blockade had malicious intentions.

It is peculiar to close the internet to hide the chaos within Zimbabwe from the global order because the truth would inevitably surface.

One explanation could be how internet blockades can protect the officers on the ground. For example, if people are aware (via social media) of the number of police officers at a specific location during a protest, it can become easy to plan and mobilise equitable numbers to overpower the state forces.

Much discourse has emerged surrounding Elon Musk’s deployment of Starlink satellites.

These satellites were invented for the sole purpose of providing internet access to regions which may not have access due to legislation, but these technologies could be repurposed as a countermeasure against tyrannical internet restrictions.

However, it should be noted that there is no evidence which suggests that the Starlink data transmission frequency cannot be stopped with a signal jammer. This thus implies that the state, if it wants to, can prematurely interrupt your Netflix.

The state’s potential use of internet blockades is a dilemma which may become a global concern in tyrannical regimes.

The killing of Masha Amini has contributed to the state’s extreme measures to nullify public discontent, and the adoption of internet blackouts has become one such measure. In a country which is not safe for women, these rebels should not be made to fight without the public being aware.