The clampdown on social media in Ethiopia has taken a new twist. Access to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber have been blocked and this is expected to continue until the national school examinations are concluded on Wednesday. This comes at a time when there is intense global condemnation of governments for blocking or limiting citizens’ access to the internet.
On Saturday, Ethiopia, Africa’s third most populous country, denied its citizens access to social media sites. According to the government, the move was necessary to help students being distracted from studying during the exam period and to prevent the spread of false rumours; “It’s blocked. It’s a temporary measure until Wednesday. Social media have proven to be a distraction for students,” government spokesman, Getachew Reda, told the AFP news agency.
Earlier, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education postponed the 2016 national higher education entrance examinations because the ministry learnt that the exam had been disseminated through social media before the exam date. However, is this reason sufficient enough to close off a major part of the country’s cyberspace, without recourse to its implications?
The shutting down of social media is fast becoming a common tool within the quick reach of many governments. Just last month, Algeria blocked access to social media across the country, this, the government said, was also done in an attempt to fight cheating in secondary school exams. It has also been reported that social media sites were throttled in Turkey after a terrorist attack on Istanbul’s airport, and mobile internet shut down in Bahrain and India following local protests.
Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council condemned measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online. The Council categorised such media gags as a violation of international human rights law, and called on all States to refrain from employing such measures.
Just as the United Nations has highlighted, the blocking of access to social media stops over 94 million Ethiopian citizens from utilising their freedom of expression. This is not the first time Ethiopia will be shutting down its cyberspace; in 2006, the Ethiopian government was alleged to have censored the opposition blogs.
Many people in Ethiopia rely on social media to know what is happening around them, but now, the government has locked them out. The current Nigerian government is a proof of the immense importance of a vibrant social media sphere; hence, the east African country cannot afford to kill such a platform by closing off access to parts of the internet whenever there is a problem. Instead, the relevant organ of the government should focus on investigating how exams are leaked and rectify the situation.
