Africa saw more internet shutdowns in 2024 than ever before as autocratic leaders looked to disempower grassroots movements amid contentious elections.
Internet rights group Access Now has issued a report showing how authorities imposed at least 296 internet shutdowns in 54 countries, causing chaos across borders and exacerbating trauma during conflict.
The findings reveal that 21 shutdowns impacted 15 countries in Africa – the highest number of shutdowns ever recorded in a single year for the region. For the second year in a row, authorities and warring parties used internet shutdowns as a weapon of war and a tool for collective punishment. Access Now also said they were sometimes used to conceal human rights abuses.
The countries identified that were most affected included: Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
Comoros, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritius shut down the internet for...