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 WaveNesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the worldafter newsletter promotionBut 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.”
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