Offline and silenced: Africa’s quiet rise of internet repression

On 29 October 2025, election day, a nationwide internet outage cut online communication across Tanzania, raising concerns about electoral transparency. This is increasingly common across Africa.

Ethiopia especially has one of the most extensive and systematic histories of internet shutdowns in Africa, recording around 30 from 2016–2024. Sudan and parts of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have seen intermittent or conflict-related shutdowns. In February 2024, Senegal cut internet connections amid election protests, silencing millions.

These incidents signal a worrying escalation in the withdrawal of digital access during political transitions. Governments use digital disconnections to silence dissent, often disguised as maintaining national security or electoral integrity. Some instances involve targeted attacks on infrastructure by armed groups or indirect constraints by private gatekeepers.

In the current fragmented landscape, neither governments nor corporations can be relied on to protect digital rights – with major consequences for democracy and livelihoods

In 2024, Africa experienced 21 internet shutdowns in 15 countries, Access Now reports. These disruptions often coincided with potential or actual protest, civil unrest, conflict or elections, adding to instability. Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition say this marked the continent’s worst year on record and was part of a global high of 296 shutdowns in 54 countries.

Global high of shutdowns

Globally, over 1,700 internet shutdowns have been tracked since 2016, says Access Now. Left unchecked, internet shutdowns could become another political tactic to control narratives, avoid scrutiny and tighten the grip on power.

The digital age is exposing a striking contradiction in Africa. Many governments frequently accuse tech giants of monopolising speech and spreading disinformation, yet they deploy internet shutdowns and other measures to contain protest movements or control narratives.

States are increasingly using cybersecurity and cybercrime laws that expand government control over digital activity. In Kenya and Zambia, new legislation passed in 2025 expanded government powers over online content, data and networks, officially to address cybercrime and security risks.

In practice, these laws make it easier to continuously monitor, regulate and restrict digital expression, embedding forms of control that are quieter, more permanent and harder to challenge than temporary shutdowns.

Simultaneously, global firms that own the digital platforms citizens depend on, operate with limited transparency, oversight and accountability, setting the rules for shaping political discourse without public input.

Firms such as Meta and X are tasked with moderating harmful content – removing hate speech, false claims and incitement to violence. However, their moderation practices have been criticised. Algorithms that amplify outrage, opaque decision-making, uneven enforcement, and a lack of investment in non-Western contexts continue to undermine their credibility.

Starlink

Satellite-based services such as Starlink, though sometimes seen as a way to circumvent state-controlled networks, typically require government approval to operate legally. In African countries like Senegal and Zimbabwe, regulators warn against the unlicensed use of Starlink terminals. Using such services without authorisation raises new questions about access, enforcement and accountability.

In the current fragmented landscape, neither governments nor corporations can be relied on to protect digital rights – with major consequences for democracy and livelihoods.

Internet shutdowns do more than disrupt connectivity and inconvenience people – they reshape entire societies and significantly impact people’s lives. In 2022, internet shutdowns cost the world almost $25-billion, with lower- and middle-income countries worst affected.

In Africa, where mobile money services and digital platforms underpin much of the informal economy, these disruptions can be ruinous. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association says mobile ecosystems are a key driver of economic transformation and socioeconomic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, supporting 1.5 million jobs directly in 2023.

Shutdowns cost $1.6bn

In 2024, shutdowns cost sub-Saharan Africa economic losses of more than $1.6-billion. In Ethiopia, prolonged and repeated blackouts during conflict have stifled humanitarian coordination, blocked online remittance systems, and hindered efforts to document human rights abuses.

Shutdowns further deepen existing digital divides. Rural communities or under-resourced urban areas often lack backup infrastructure or alternative communication channels. These regions are the first to go silent when networks fail, and the last to come back online.

Similarly, refugees worldwide increasingly rely on mobile connections for communication, online learning or engaging in economic activities. In Uganda, a study found that refugees and host communities experienced diverse implications, with women especially affected.

Despite these challenges, Africa’s youth and entrepreneurs are driving a wave of digital transformation, from fintech and e-learning to online movements demanding accountability. Connectivity now underpins how people work, learn, create and participate politically.

The commitment to treating access as a fundamental democratic right, one as vital as free speech or assembly, must expand.

But even as governments promote digital entrepreneurship, paperless education and mobile banking, many switch off internet access when it serves political interests. “You cannot fully embrace a digital economy while weaponising the very infrastructure it relies on,” notes Internet Without Borders Executive Director Julie Owono.

This paradox erodes investors’ confidence, weakens public trust, and undermines the very growth that policymakers claim to support.

In response, civil society is adapting. Organisations such as the Digital Society of Africa, Paradigm Initiative and Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline are strengthening digital resilience among civil society groups and at-risk communities through digital security training, capacity building and rapid-response support, forming the backbone of a growing African digital-rights resistance.

Some progress is emerging at the policy level. In 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights passed a landmark resolution condemning internet shutdowns. Still, enforcement remains weak, and telecom operators comply with shutdown directives, though often not out of agreement but rather under threat of licence revocation or other legal consequences.

As Access Now warns, even within these constraints, providers should align with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, challenge unlawful directives and commit to greater accountability. Further, there is a lack of transparency in reporting regarding internet shutdowns.

Whether Africa’s internet future will be freely connected, conditional or controlled depends on actions taken now. With a rise in contested elections, fragile transitions and regional conflicts, the likelihood of new or prolonged shutdowns grows. Democracy may be switched off in a moment, but the consequences linger, severing a society from its own potential and placing control in the hands of a few.

Connectivity should be recognised and treated as a public good. That means designing more regional safeguards, supporting infrastructure resilience, and investing in public digital literacy to ensure shutdowns cannot be wielded so easily.

Preventing a disconnected future

Preventing a more disconnected future is a collective responsibility. Civil society must remain vigilant through watchdog efforts and public awareness work, while citizens continue to press leaders and uphold digital rights.

Governments need clear legal limits and independent oversight over access restrictions. Telecom operators and tech firms should resist unlawful directives and improve transparency around shutdown requests. Donors and international bodies should tie support to open-access commitments so that digital infrastructure strengthens, not constrains, fundamental freedoms.

Through a shared commitment to protect and expand internet access, Africa – and the world – can build a digital future that remains inclusive, resilient and free. DM

Dr Julia Baum and Michelle van Rooyen, African Futures and Innovation, Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

First published by ISS Today. A previous version of this article was published in Africa Tomorrow, the blog of ISS’ African Futures and Innovation programme.