Past

National shutdown

Internet services were disrupted twice in Mauritania on 12 August from 8:00-12:00 UTC and 15:00-19:00 UTC. The disruption coincided with baccalaureate exams happening that day. This recent shutdown comes less than a month after Internet services were restored after a 23 day national Internet shutdown following post-election protests.

  • Total Duration 11 hours

Flag of Mauritania Mauritania

Population
5,169,395
UN Classification
  • Least Developed Country

View full country profile for Mauritania

Local impact

Internet services were disrupted twice in Mauritania on 12 August from 8:00-12:00 UTC and 15:00-19:00 UTC. The disruption coincided with baccalaureate exams happening that day. This recent shutdown comes less than a month after Internet services were restored after a 23 day national Internet shutdown following post-election protests.

Related documentation

No cause documentation has been published.

Other supporting information

Cloudflare Radar shows Mauritania's Internet traffic volumes dropped on 12 August between 8:00-12:00 UTC and 15:00-19:00 UTC.

Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic in Mauritania on 12 August

Chingutel and Mattel experienced complete network outages. The country's largest ISP, Mauritel, experienced a 50% drop in traffic.

Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic in Mattel on 12 August
Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic in Chinguitel on 12 August
Chart from Cloudflare Radar showing a drop in Internet traffic in Mauritel on 12 August

Google Transparency Report also shows traffic to Google web search services returning to levels before the shutdown event.

Chart from Google Transparency Report showing two drops in Internet traffic in Mauritania on 12 August

Social media

Three apparent #Internet shutdowns took place in #Mauritania on August 12 & 13, likely intended to prevent cheating on baccalaureate exams. Mattel & Chingutel saw complete multi-hour outages, while Mauritel lost ~50% of traffic.https://t.co/JTLtgQgIclhttps://t.co/F5ixrDfqOZ pic.twitter.com/F28ucTeCLx — Cloudflare Radar (@CloudflareRadar) August 13, 2024