{"id":135683,"date":"2021-09-20T21:57:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T21:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/?p=2916152"},"modified":"2021-09-20T21:57:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T21:57:09","slug":"social-media-restrictions-shutdowns-on-the-rise-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2021\/09\/20\/social-media-restrictions-shutdowns-on-the-rise-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media Restrictions & Shutdowns on the Rise in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

The African continent continues to live up to its reputation of infringing on the freedom of expression social media \u2013 and the internet in general \u2013 provides to its citizens. Since 2015, scores of countries have either blocked or restricted access to social networks during protests, uprisings, or elections.<\/p>\n

In this year alone, over 4 African countries have censored social media, resulting in fierce criticism from both the local and international community. In this article, we\u2019ll explain how governments block social networks like Facebook and Twitter and what you can do to access them in such situations:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What African Countries Have Restricted or Shutdown Social Networks in 2021?<\/h3>\n

Here are some countries that have blocked completely or partially blocked social media:<\/p>\n

Zambia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Messaging and social media services were restricted on election day, leaving Zambians unable to access them on multiple internet providers. That\u2019s not all, the government also threatened to cut off the internet if citizens didn\u2019t use it \u201ccorrectly\u201d during the election.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Social media and messaging apps like Telegram, Facebook, and YouTube were disrupted on March 5 following the arrest of Ousamne Sonko. The 46-year-old leader was at the forefront of the anti-government protests held in Dakar, the country\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nigeria<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twitter was indefinitely banned by the government in June after the micro-blogging platform deleted President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s tweet for violating its guidelines. According to estimates, the country is losing a whopping $250,000 every hour as a result of the ban.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Uganda<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Uganda Communications Commission<\/a> (UCC) restricted access to social media services two days before the general election on January 14. A complete internet blackout was enforced on the election\u2019s eve, making Uganda the first country to censor the internet this year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How Do African Governments Block Social Networks?<\/h3>\n

Governments don\u2019t have the ability to block access to certain sites or services and order the companies who hold that power, which in this case are the internet service providers and cellular operators. They can use a number of methods to fulfill the government\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n

For example, IP blocking is one of the most commonly used techniques to stop access to legitimate services and sites. Another is bandwidth throttling<\/a>, which involves slowing down users\u2019 internet traffic in order to discourage access.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is There Any Way to Bypass This Censorship?<\/h3>\n

Luckily, yes. If internet access isn\u2019t shut down completely in your country, there are a number of tools available to circumvent these hurdles. We\u2019ve discussed them below:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. VPN<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A Virtual Private Network (VPN) lets you change your IP address to a country without censorship<\/a> and secures all your traffic using bank-grade encryption. The result? You can access the internet restriction-free and nobody (including your ISP) will be able to tell what you\u2019re up to online.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Proxy<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A proxy functions in the same way as a VPN but without any encryption capabilities. While you can use it to get around censorship, security-wise it isn\u2019t the safest option as you and your data can be exposed to surveillance. In some countries like China, you could even face legal consequences.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Tor<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The Tor browser is another way to access sites censored in your country. Simply downloading the browser and navigating to a blocked site will grant access, but at a much slower speed because it routes your requests via multiple servers.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Final Word<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Social media restrictions and shutdowns are becoming more and more common in the African continent with every passing year. In situations such as these, Africans can regain access to sites and services using tools like VPNs and the Tor browser.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Tags:<\/b>
        No PR<\/a>, IPS<\/a>, Wire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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