The year 2024 started with the governments of Senegal and Sudan implementing internet shutdowns in specific regions of their countries, continuing a concerning trend from the previous year. As 2023 came to a close, there were still 55 ongoing cases of internet restrictions globally, with 51 of them targeting social media or messaging apps and involving 24 countries and territories.
According to Surfshark’s Internet Shutdown Tracker yearly recap, Africa experienced 17 recorded internet restrictions in 2023, affecting around 330 million people. Senegal led the list with five restrictions, despite being considered one of the most stable democracies in the region. The shutdowns in Senegal were linked to government attempts to suppress democracy, following the arrest and sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the postponement of elections.
Other African countries experiencing internet restrictions in 2023 included Ethiopia, Guinea, Mauritania, Chad, Gabon, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Tanzania even took the additional step of directing the registration of all VPN users.
Globally, internet shutdowns are increasingly being employed by governments to control public discourse, limit freedom of speech, and hinder association. Nearly two-thirds of internet restrictions in 2023 were associated with protests, affecting 1.7 billion people across eight countries. Autocratic regimes commonly use internet shutdowns to impede communications during political unrest, protests, and elections.
Surprisingly, Asia recorded the highest number of internet restrictions globally, with Iran imposing 29 cases, and India, despite being a tech giant and the world’s largest democracy, having eight instances in 2023. Social media platforms and messaging apps faced restrictions, with Telegram being blocked most frequently on eight occasions. TikTok and YouTube experienced the most prolonged restrictions in terms of duration, averaging 203 and 123 days, respectively.
While Kenya was not explicitly included in the analysis, the country faced restrictions on Telegram for approximately a month, attributed unofficially to national examinations at the time. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube remained restricted in Pakistan amid tensions over the sentencing of opposition leader Imran Khan to 10 years in prison.
