Between 2016 and 2024, there were 193 internet shutdowns imposed in 41 African countries. This form of social control is a growing trend in the continent, according to a new open-access source book. It has provided the first-ever comparative analysis of how and why African states use blackouts – written by African researchers.
The book, co-edited by digital rights activist and internet shutdown specialist Felicia Anthonio and digital researcher Tony Roberts, offers 11 in-depth case studies of state-sponsored shutdowns. We asked five questions about it.
How do you define an internet shutdown and why do they happen?
Put simply, an internet shutdown is an intentional disruption of online or mobile communications. They’re usually ordered by the state and implemented by private companies, internet service providers or mobile phone companies, or a combination of those.
The book argues that internet shutdowns are not legal, necessary or proportional in accordance with international human rights law. Shutdowns intentionally prevent the free flow of information and communication. They disrupt online social, economic and political life. So, each internet shutdown typically violates the fundamental human rights of millions of citizens. This includes their rights to freedom of expression, trade and commerce, democratic debate, and civic participation online.
Our research looked at case studies from 11 countries between 2016 and 2024. It reveals these shutdowns are timed to coincide with elections or peaceful protests in order to repress political opposition and prevent online reporting.
- In Senegal five politically motivated shutdowns in just three years transformed the country’s digital landscape. It cut off citizens’ access to online work, education and healthcare information.
- The Uganda chapter shows how the government-imposed social media is shut down during elections. They were fearful of dissenting voices online including that of musician and politician Bobi Wine.
- In Ethiopia internet shutdowns are timed to coincide with opposition protests and to prevent live coverage of state violent repression.
- In Zimbabwe, the government cut off the internet in 2019 to quell anti-government demonstrations.
It should be a concern that regimes are imposing these digital authoritarian practices with increasing frequency and with impunity.
What are the big trends?
The report warns that internet shutdowns are being used to retain power through authoritarian controls. Across Africa, governments are normalising their use to suppress dissent, quell protests and manipulate electoral outcomes.
These blackouts are growing in scale and frequency from a total of 14 shutdowns in 2016 to 28 shutdowns in 2024. There have been devastating consequences in an ever-more digitally connected world.
Internet shutdowns have also increased in sophistication. Partial shutdowns can target specific provinces or websites, so that opposition areas can be cut off. In recent years foreign states, military regimes and warring parties have also resorted to the use of internet shutdown as a weapon of war. This was done by targeting and destroying telecommunications infrastructure.
Ethiopia has experienced the most internet shutdowns in Africa – 30 in the last 10 years. They’ve become a go-to tactic of the state in its attempt to silence dissent in the Oromo and Amhara regions. Shutdowns are timed to coincide with state crackdowns on protests or with military actions – preventing live reporting of human rights violations. Ethiopia is a clear example of how internet shutdowns both reflect and amplify existing political and ethnic power interests.
Zimbabwe is one of many examples in the book of the colonial roots of shutdowns. The first media shutdowns in Zimbabwe were imposed by the British, who closed newspapers to silence calls for political independence. After liberation, the new government used its own authoritarian control over the media to disseminate disinformation and curtail opposition calls for justice and full democracy.
Towards the end of former President Robert Mugabe’s rule, the government imposed a variety of nationwide internet shutdowns. It also throttled the speed of the mobile internet, degrading the service enough to significantly disrupt opposition expression and organisation.
Sudan has experienced 21 internet shutdowns in the last decade. These have increased in recent years as the political and military action has intensified. Intentional online disruption has been consistently deployed by the state during protests and periods of political unrest, particularly in response to resistance movements and civil uprisings during the ongoing conflict.
Has there been effective resistance to shutdowns?
Activists resist by using virtual private network software (VPNs) to disguise their location. Or by using satellite connections not controlled by the government and foreign Sim cards. They also mobilise offline protests despite violent repression.
Nigeria has not suffered the same volume of internet shutdowns as Sudan or Ethiopia. This is partly because civil society is stronger and is able to mount a more robust response in the face of state disruption of the right to free expression. When an internet shutdown has been imposed in Nigeria, the state has not enjoyed the same impunity as the government in Zimbabwe or elsewhere.
When Nigerians were unable to work online or participate in the online social and political life of the community, they took decisive action by acting collectively. They selectively litigated against the government. This led to the courts ruling that the internet shutdown was not lawful, necessary or proportionate. The government was forced to lift the ban.
How has 2025 fared when it comes to shutdowns?
We have seen both positive and negative trends in 2025. The total number of internet shutdowns across the continent continues to grow. The increasing ability of regimes to narrowly target shutdowns on specific areas is of great concern as it allows the state to punish opposition areas while privileging others.
On the positive side, we have seen resistance rise: both in terms of the use of circumvention technologies but also in the emerging ability of civil society organisations to stand up to repressive governments.
What must happen to prevent shutdowns?
The right to work, freedom of expression and association, and the right to access education are fundamental human rights both offline and online. African governments are signatories to both the Universal Convention on Human Rights and to the Africa Union Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Yet, politicians in power too often ignore these commitments to preserve their personal hold on power.
In some African countries, citizens are now exercising their own power to hold governments to account but this is easier in countries that have strong civil society, independent courts and relatively free media. Even where this is not the case the constitutional court is an option for raising objections when the state curtails fundamental freedoms.
And while it is states that order internet shutdowns, it is private mobile and internet companies that implement them. Private companies have obligations to promote and protect human rights. If companies agreed collectively not to contribute to rights violations and refused to impose internet shutdowns, it would be a great leap forward in ending this authoritarian practice.
- The author, Tony Roberts, is digital research fellow, Institute of Development Studies
- This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article