Latest news with #KeepItOn
The Guardian
09-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Internet shutdowns at record high in Africa as access ‘weaponised'
Digital blackouts reached a record high in 2024 in Africa as more governments sought to keep millions of citizens off the internet than in any other period over the last decade. A report released by the internet rights group Access Now and #KeepItOn, a coalition of hundreds of civil society organisations worldwide, found there were 21 shutdowns in 15 African countries, surpassing the existing record of 19 shutdowns in 2020 and 2021. Authorities in Comoros, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritius joined repeat offenders such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea and Kenya. Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania were also on the list. But perpetrators also included militias and other non-state actors. Telecommunication and internet service providers who shut services based on government orders are also complicit in violating people's rights, said Felicia Anthonio, the #KeepItOn campaign manager at Access Now, citing the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. The details showed that most of the shutdowns were imposed as a response to conflicts, protests and political instability. There were also restrictions during elections. The trend was replicated across the world with more internet shutdowns and in more countries: 296 shutdowns across 54 countries, compared with 283 shutdowns in 39 countries the previous year. Access Now said the figures were the worst since it started keeping records in 2016 and that the rise reflected 'a world where internet access is consistently weaponised, restricted, and precarious'. 'Behind each of the 1,754 shutdowns since 2016 is a story of people and communities cut off from the world and each other, often during political upheaval, unrest, violence and war,' the report said. At least five shutdowns in Africa had been imposed for more than a year by the end of 2024, according to Access Now. As of early 2025, the social network Meta was still restricted in Uganda, despite authorities engaging with its representatives. On the Equatorial Guinean island of Annobon, internet and cell services have been cut off since an August 2024 protest over environmental concerns and isolation from the rest of the country. The increase in shutdowns led the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to pass a landmark resolution in March 2024 to help reverse the trend. Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion But the regression had continued, said Anthonio. 'It's rather unfortunate we saw more election-related shutdowns in Africa and other places in 2024 despite the adoption of the ACHPR resolution last year,' she said. 'Despite this, the resolution is a positive step as it has served as a vital resource and reference for civil society's advocacy against rights-harming shutdowns. It is difficult for us to tell if the resolution is yielding results already, but we did see authorities in countries like Mauritius and South Sudan [in January 2025] backtrack or reverse shutdown orders.'
Al Jazeera
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Conflicts trigger globe's highest rate of internet shutdowns in 2024: NGO
Governments around the world oversaw a record-breaking year for internet shutdowns in 2024, a new report on 'digital violence' suggests. There were 296 internet shutdowns documented across 54 countries last year, surpassing the 283 shutdowns in 39 countries in 2023, says the report by Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition, published on Monday. Conflict remained the leading cause of internet shutdowns for the second consecutive year, according to the report, with perpetrators employing tactics ranging from jamming devices and severing cables to destroying infrastructure and sabotaging service providers. Myanmar led the global list of offenders with 85 internet shutdowns. The outages were primarily imposed by the military government to target 'a population resisting its dictatorship four years after the coup', Access Now wrote. Cross-border shutdowns saw a sharp rise. These included shutdowns carried out by Russia in Ukraine, Israel in Gaza, and Thailand and China in Myanmar. India dropped from the top in 2023 to second place, with 84 shutdowns. Pakistan recorded 21 shutdowns, its highest-ever total. Israeli 'digital violence' in MENA region The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw 41 internet shutdowns across 17 countries in 2024, down from 77 in 2023. However, the number of affected countries increased from 15 to 17. Authorities in 10 MENA countries implemented 18 platform blocks in 2024 as a method of information control, the report said, while armed conflicts drove 12 internet shutdowns, endangering civilians' safety. Israel led the region with six shutdowns during its war on Gaza, 'systematically cutting off' connectivity and destroying telecommunication infrastructure despite international criticism, the report said. In Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) weaponised shutdowns during the ongoing war, disrupting access to vital services for millions. The year also saw cyberattacks from the Anonymous Sudan hacker group causing shutdowns in Bahrain, Chad, and Israel, while Mauritania enacted the region's first election-related shutdown since 2021. The region continued to lead globally in exam-related shutdowns, with 10 disruptions across five countries, including Algeria, Iraq, and Syria, under the pretext of preventing cheating, despite resistance from civil society.
