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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan

Internet shutdowns at record high in Africa as access ‘weaponised’

Internet Africa Access Now Felicia Anthonio
Hand holding a smartphone in the foreground, as men sit on parked motorcycles behind, with some also looking at their phones
A man holding a mobile phone in Nairobi, Kenya. The country is among the repeat offenders for internet shutdowns. Photograph: Boniface Muthoni/Sopa Images/Shutterstock

Digital blackouts reached a record high in 2024 in Africa as more governments sought to keep millions of citizens off the internet than in any other period over the last decade.

A report released by the internet rights group Access Now and #KeepItOn, a coalition of hundreds of civil society organisations worldwide, found there were 21 shutdowns in 15 African countries, surpassing the existing record of 19 shutdowns in 2020 and 2021.

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