Internet Shutdowns

In the midst of civil unrest, there are reports that government authorities have banned access to TikTok and Twitter/X. Both of these sites appeared to show symptoms of site blocking since the start of February.

On Monday, 27 January 2025, local sources reported that the Internet had been taken offline in the region around Goma, a major eastern city of the Democratic Republic of Congo with over a million residents. The outage occurred after rebels from the M23 movement said they had taken control of Goma following a quick advance against the Congolese army.

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.