Internet Shutdowns

Authorities ordered local telecommunication providers to suspend Internet services in the district of Koregaon Bhima on 1 January 2021 to prevent 'rumors or provocative messages on social media' from being spread. Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries.

The UN cited reports that the shutdown prevented electoral observers and witnesses in rural polling stations from communicating with local centres where results were being compiled, and made it difficult for the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to reach its field partners, including those offering protection to vulnerable civilians. Local media outlets had to temporarily relocate their staff to Brazzavile, the capital of neighboring Republic of Congo, and to Rwanda to be able to access the Internet and report without restrictions. The shutdown also encouraged  the smuggling of contraband mobile phone SIM cards, sold at an inflated price, from the Republic of Congo, whose network coverage extend to nearby areas across the border. Local consumer rights group, the Consumers Union of Congo, filed a complaint against mobile service providers Vodacom, Orange, Airtel and Africell over the shutdown to the Kinshasa Commercial Court. The group claims that operators unilaterally broke their service contract with their subscribers by cutting their access to the Internet.

There have been media reports that Sudanese authorities are blocking access to popular social media platforms amidst nationwide anti-government protests triggered by an economic crisis. The report quotes the head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah saying "There was a discussion in the government about blocking social media sites and in the end it was decided to block them."

Local media reported a complete Internet shutdown in several areas of Hodeida city in western Yemen. A source from the Ministry of Communication was quoted in Al-Mashhad news, attributing the five-month-long disruption to acts of sabotage and excavations by the Houthi militia, which controls the area. The local ISP, Yemen Net, made no comment about the shutdown. Activists in Hodeida had appealed to the Dutch UN team to pressure the Houthis to restore Internet access.

In one of the longest-running Internet disruptions of the last few years, messaging apps in Chad were blocked for 16 months. The social media blackout began in March 2018 after proposed government reforms to the constitution which would enable the current president to stay in power for the next 30 years.