Past

National shutdown

Local businesses that depend on the Internet, such as ride-hailing services, have said that the shutdown significantly restricted their operations. It also hurt dissemination of key information about the pandemic by regional organizations such as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which are based in Addis Ababa.

Start 30 June 2020 12:00 a.m.
End 23 July 2020 12:00 a.m.
Total Duration 44 days

Ethiopia

Population: 128,691,692
UN Classification: Least Developed Country

Land Locked Developing Country

Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free

View full country profile for Ethiopia

Local impact

Other supporting information

Access to the Internet was blocked on June 30 amidst protests against the fatal shooting of Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent musician and political activist in Addis Ababa. Hundessa belonged to the Oromo ethnic group, and had been involved in several campaigns against autocratic governments in the country, using his music to advocate for political representation for the Oromo. The government said it’s trying to prevent speech that could further inflame ethnic tensions.

Several key locations in Addis Ababa often described as Africa’s diplomatic capital, remained connected to the Internet during the 23-day shutdown, allowing institutions like like the African Union, United Nations agencies, as well as international hotels, big businesses and government offices to remain online. Full Internet access was restored morning of July 23.

Measurement data from the Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis, Google and RIPE NCC below corroborate local reports of Internet access disruptions.