Governments in Mozambique and Mauritius have reportedly shut down access to social media and messaging sites, as Mozambique deals with election protests while Mauritius is trying to control the fallout of an alleged wiretapping scandal.
Internet monitoring website Netblocks confirmed on Thursday that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were blocked in Mozambique, following disruptions in mobile data services the previous week as protesters prepared to hit the streets over disputed election results.
According to the BBC, Venâncio Mondlane – who lost the presidential election to Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party, who was declared the winner on October 24 with 71% of the vote – insists he is the real winner and has been posting social media videos urging supporters to protest the results. Mondlane has been hiding in South Africa since two of his aides were shot dead on October 19.
Clashes have since broken out between protesters and police, with at least 11 killed and about 400 people detained as of Friday, according to Human Rights Watch.
Digital rights watchdog Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition issued a statement Thursday condemning the social media shutdown, noting that it’s the second time the government has imposed an internet blackout in the past year, which it says makes it almost impossible for people to access and disseminate important information with regard to the polls.
Bridget Andere, senior policy analyst at Access Now, added that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) resolution 580 of 2024 “calls on state parties to refrain from shutting down the internet before, during, and after elections and recognises the importance of connectivity for the full realization of democratic norms and rights.”
Meanwhile, Netblocks also confirmed on Friday that access to multiple social media platforms – including Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, LInkedIn and YouTube – have been blocked in Mauritius. The blocks came after Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth announced the government had ordered ISPs to cut access to all social media platforms ahead of its upcoming general election on November 10. The social media blackout is set to last until November 11.
According to Al Jazeera, Jugnauth ordered the blackout after 20 conversations involving high-ranking politicians, foreign diplomats, police, lawyers, journalists and members of civil society were leaked on social media since mid-October.
Access Now also condemned that shutdown, saying that it violated not only ACHPR resolution 580, but also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Mauritius’ own constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and access to information as fundamental human rights.
Access Now also urged telcos Emtel and Mauritius Telecom to “push back against illegal government directives, and keep people connected.”
As we reported in August, restricting or completely shuttering internet access has become a “common tactic” used by government to supress dissent, according to the World Economic Forum. Access Now says that 2023 alone was the “worst year” for internet blackouts in recent years, with 283 reported shutdowns in 39 countries, compared to 201 blackouts in 40 countries in 2022.
