Internet blackouts in Africa A critical examination, with reference to Cameroon and Nigeria
Main Article Content
Keywords
Internet Censorship, Internet Blackout, Cyber Sovereignty, Human Rights, Online Movement, Authoritarianism, Social Responsibility.
Abstract
Internet blackouts in Africa have largely been examined through the prisms of human rights and economic development. This has resulted in highly negative assessments; Internet shutdowns have widely been branded as violations of the rights of African citizens, and the bane of economic development. However, while unarguably extreme, Internet blackouts are not necessarily unjustified or unwarranted. Even influential bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recognise the need to shut down the Internet under certain circumstances. Governments often justify Internet shutdowns by citing principles or values that are valid in principle. These include protecting their sovereignty, combating ‘rascality’ among telecom operators, and maintaining peace and security. Given this, it is important to examine the extent to which Internet shutdowns in Africa have been justified, or whether they have been used to advance authoritarian rule. To this end, this study uses documentary analysis and critical observations to explore the morality of Internet blackouts in sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically whether or not the recent shutdowns in Cameroon and Nigeria have been justified.
Article Metrics Graph
References
Africa Check (2020) ‘No evidence, US, Russia, Israel and France “approve” Biafra’s separation from Nigeria’, 28 December 2020. At https://africacheck.org/
Allen, K & I van Zyl (2020) Digital Vigilantism, Social Media and Cyber Criminality. Paris: Enact/European Union.
Anyim, W O (2021) ‘Twitter ban in Nigeria: Implications for economy, freedom of speech and information Sharing. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 5975. At https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/
Caldwell, M (2017). ‘Cameroon restores Internet to English-speaking regions’. Deutsche Welle. At https://www.dw.com/en/
CIPESA (2021) State of Internet freedom in Africa 2021. Effects of state surveillance on democratic participation in Africa. Amsterdam: CIPESA.
De Gregorio, G & N Stremlau (2020) ‘Internet shutdowns and the limits of the law’. International Journal of Communication, 14, 4224-44243.
Freedom House (2015) Freedom on the Net 2015: Nigeria. London: Freedom House.
Freedom on the Net (2016) Silencing the Messenger: Communication Apps under Threat. London: Freedom House.
Hautala, L (2016). ‘Internet outage swoop across the US’. At https://www.cnet.com/
IFLA (2020) Internet shutdowns: Backgrounds. London.
IFLA (2019). Internet shutdowns: Backgrounds. At https://www.ifla.org/
IUT (2017) Constitution and Convention. London: IUT.
James, V (2022) ‘Nigeria lifts Twitter ban, says the company has agreed to government demands’. The Verge. At https://www.theverge.com/
Kathuria, R et al (2018) The Anatomy of an Internet Blackout: Measuring the economic impact of Internet shutdowns in India. New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.
Kaye, D (2016) Primer on Internet shutdowns law, London: Access Now.
Kene-Okafor, T (2022). ‘Nigeria lifts ban on Twitter, says the social media giant has met conditions’. Tech Crunch, 12 January, p 32.
Lamensch, M (2021) ‘The cost of an Internet shutdown’. CIG Magazine. At https://www.cigionline.org/
Marchant, E & N Stremlau (2019) Africa’s Internet Shutdowns. A Report on the Johannesburg Workshop. London: University of Oxford.
Media Foundation for West Africa (2015). ‘Nigerian Senate has withdrawn “Frivolous Petition Bill”’. IFEX 25. Lagos: Media Foundation for West Africa.
Media Foundation for West Africa (2018). Combating Internet shutdowns during elections in Africa – the Ghana example. Accra.
Miles, P (2011) Is Twitter via SMS back in Cameroon? Cameroon Today News, at http://news.cameroon-today.com/
Ngange, L K & S M Moki (2019) ‘Understanding social media’s role in propagating falsehood in conflict situation: Case of the Cameroon Anglophone crisis’. Studies in Media and Communication, 7(2), 64-75. https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v7i2.4525
Nimi, P. (2021) Nigeria’s Zamfara State phone and Internet shutdown enters sixth day as authorities target kidnappers. CNN World. At https://edition.cnn.com/
NoiPolls (2020), Social Media Poll Report, 7. Lagos.
Nounkeu, C T (2020). ‘Facebook and fake news in “Anglophone crisis” in Cameroon’. African Journalism Studies, 41(3): 20-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/23743670.2020.1812102
Nyokabi, M D et al (2019) The right to development and Internet shutdowns: Assessing the role of information and communications technologies in democratic development in Africa. Global Campus Human Rights Journal, 3, 147-172.
Okpi, A (2020) Analysis: How pro-Biafran disinformation machine churns out fiction as facts. Africa Check, 24 December 2020. At https://africacheck.org/
Sahara Reporters (2021) ‘Twitter deletes Buhari’s “genocidal tweets” after condemnation by Nigerians. Sahara Reporters, 8 February 2022. At http://saharareporters.com/
Statcounter (2022) Social media stats Cameroon. London: Globalstats.
Statcounter (2022) Social media stats worldwide Jan 2021-2022. London: Global Stats.
Statistica. Nigeria: Leading Social Media Platforms. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1176101/leading-social-media-platforms-nigeria/
Stauffer, B (2020) Shutting down the Internet to shut up cities. London: Human Rights Watch.
Taye, B (2019) Targeted, cut off and left in the dark. The KeepItOn report on Internet shutdowns in 2019. London: KeepItOn.
United Nation Organisation (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Washington.
West, D M (2016). Internet shutdowns cost countries $2.4 billion last year Brookings: Centre or Technology Innovation.
Woodhams, S (2019) ‘Contesting the legality of Internet shutdowns’. London: Just Security Int.
World Internet Stats (2020) Internet Users Statistic for Africa. Africa Internet Users, 2020 Population Stats and Facebook Subscribers. 23 December. At https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Licensing information
Creative Commons CC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License
© Author(s)
Floribert Patrick C. Endong, University of Calabar
Media Arts