Content note: The following post contains references to violence and war crimes.
By almost every measure, 2023 was the worst year of internet shutdowns on record. Authorities deliberately interrupted the internet at least 283 times in 39 countries concealing, enabling, and exacerbating violence, war crimes, attacks on democracy, and other atrocities, crushing the human rights of millions of people.
Launched on May 15, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition’s report, Shrinking democracy, growing violence: Internet shutdowns in 2023, exposes the unparalleled impact and destruction of these brutal attacks on human rights throughout a dangerous year of extremes. Read the full report, global snapshot, and Africa deepdive in Kiswahili, French, and Amharic.
The year 2023 was one of sheer devastation invoked and intensified by internet shutdowns. From Ethiopia to Senegal, authorities hit the kill switch with reckless abandon in some areas, prolonging the suffering of those living under blackouts in others — underscoring their control and disregard for human rights across the continent.Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now
Key regional findings include:
- The worst year on record: authorities implemented at least 283 internet shutdowns in 39 countries — a 41% increase from 201 shutdowns in 40 countries in 2022;
- The leading regional trigger: authorities shut down the internet at least 10 times in 6 countries including Senegal, Ethiopia, and Guinea during protests;
- The escalating scale: amidst conflict, millions of people in Tigray and Amhara regions in Ethiopia, lived through a prolonged and ongoing shutdown that lasted the entire year;
- The trends: 10 of the 17 shutdowns in the region were targeted platform blocks including in Senegal, Ethiopia, Guinea,Tanzania, and Kenya, and Uganda’s 3+ year Facebook blocking continues to subsist;
- The new offenders: Kenya and Mozambique, shut down the internet for the first time; and
- The positives: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone — all with shutdown histories — upheld commitments to #KeepItOn, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice again ruled against the use of shutdowns in Guinea and and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) passed resolution 580 0f 2024 explicitly calling on member states to ensure open and secure internet access before, during, and after elections and refrain from shutting down the internet during democratic processes.
Democracy and human rights take a massive hit when new countries like Kenya and Mozambique — historically shining examples of upholding open and secure internet access — join the list of internet shutdown offenders. Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition are, however, encouraged to see governments’ commitments to ensure internet access during elections as well as Africa’s regional courts and bodies taking a position in the fight to end internet shutdowns in the region.Bridget Andere, Senior Policy Analyst at Access Now
In 2023, authorities in Africa shut down the internet in: Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Somaliland, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Read the full report, global snapshot in English, and the Africa deepdive in Kiswahili, French, and Amharic.