National shutdown
After President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani won re-election for a second term, protests erupted across Mauritania. While we have not yet seen an official statement requiring networks to shutdown, data shows that mobile Internet networks were disrupted beginning in the early hours of 2 July 2024. Media reports and commentary on social media all indicate various degrees of a loss of connectivity. This would unfortunately not be the first time the current government has shut down the Internet amidst protests. Back in June 2023, mobile Internet was shut down for most of a week during protests against the government. Internet services returned to normal on 24 July.
- Total Duration 43 days
Mauritania
- Population
- 5,022,441
- UN Classification
-
- Least Developed Country
Local impact
After President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani won re-election for a second term, protests erupted across Mauritania. While we have not yet seen an official statement requiring networks to shutdown, data shows that mobile Internet networks were disrupted beginning in the early hours of 2 July 2024. Media reports and commentary on social media all indicate various degrees of a loss of connectivity. This would unfortunately not be the first time the current government has shut down the Internet amidst protests. Back in June 2023, mobile Internet was shut down for most of a week during protests against the government. Internet services returned to normal on 24 July.
Related documentation
The official spokesman for the government, Nani Ould Ashrouqa, was quoted to have said on the evening of 23 July that cutting off mobile Internet in Mauritania was a security necessity, adding that the government is aware that cutting off the Internet is a step that carries to the inconvenience of citizens, but its consequences for security are great.
Other supporting information
[Update 26 July]
On 24 July, Cloudflare Radar showed Mauritania's Internet traffic volumes returned to those seen before the shutdown on 2 July.
Google Transparency Report also shows traffic to Google web search services returning to levels before the shutdown event.
[ 2 July]
Cloudflare Radar shows the drop in traffic in Mauritania since the morning of 2 July 2024:
Google's Transparency Report also shows a similar drop:
Social media
After 22 days without 3G in Mauritania, authorities finally restored connection today.https://t.co/0HVqG7RX7F Claiming security reasons, Mauritanian authorities ordered the shutdown on July 2 during riots protesting the results of the provisional presidential election. — SMEX (@SMEX) July 29, 2024