African nations silence internet to stem protests
Blackouts have grown rapidly in past 2 years, especially during polls or when violence broke out or was merely expected
Julius Ikena’s trade business is at a standstill because he cannot make electronic payments to his partners. Andrew Mofor cannot get access to the small fortune — €800, or about $850 (Dh3,122) — that his daughter sent him through an online banking system.
And Angela Atabong, a 29-year-old economics student in Cameroon’s capital, can no longer tap out sweet nothings on the internet messaging service WhatsApp to her fiance.
All three have been thwarted by Cameroon’s government, which is the latest in sub-Saharan Africa to switch off the internet in parts or all of a nation, or to put other limits on online communication in hopes of snuffing out protests and other opposition.
Authoritarian regimes have long limited communication with the outside world during tense times. In 2011, Egyptian government officials cut internet and mobile network access to 80 million people as thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo. Governments in Myanmar, Nepal and other countries have also shut off internet access in recent years.
Sub-Saharan African governments are increasingly employing the tactic: Blackouts have grown most rapidly in the past two years, researchers say.
In recent months, governments in several countries have turned off internet access during elections when violence broke out or was merely expected.
In December in The Gambia, the president at the time, Yahya Jammeh, shut off internet services and blocked international cell phone calls as votes were cast in a presidential election that eventually ousted him from office.
In Gabon, officials cited security concerns for an internet blackout during presidential elections that prompted deadly demonstrations after the vote was considered to be fraudulent.
And in the Republic of Congo, internet access was blocked and TV networks switched off during an election that spurred violence. Government officials were accused of using air strikes on opposition forces.
Ethiopia has shut down some social media sites and internet services after demonstrations. In Zimbabwe, after protests over the travails of daily life, officials raised prices on cell phone data, a move widely seen as an effort to curb the use of social media.
Freedom House, a US watchdog organisation, said in its annual Freedom on the Net survey of 65 countries that 24 nations experienced restrictions on social media and communications last year, up from 15 countries the previous year.
Mai Truong, programme manager for the survey, said, “It’s a strategy that the authorities are increasingly turning to as a method of controlling both the information landscape and citizens’ ability to mobilise, in recognition of the fact that the internet has become a fundamental tool for people to realise their rights and participate meaningfully in society.”