Chadians are demanding that the government restore access to social media after it was cut off on March 28, 2018. PHOTO | NMG
Activists in Chad are demanding that the government restore access to social media after it was cut
off a year ago.
off a year ago.
The
restrictions were introduced on March 28, 2018, shortly after the
conclusion of a national conference which recommended changes to the
constitution, to allow President Idriss Deby to remain in power until
2033.
- Why was social media cut?
Critics of Mr Deby had been mobilising through social media since the last presidential elections in 2016.
The
mobilisation proved effective, as according to the BBC's Vincent
Niebede in the capital Ndjamena, many Chadians were using social media
to organise anti-government protests.
He says the internet became a real threat to the government.
- Has it worked?
Access
to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, among others, has been blocked and
since the ban was implemented, the number of demonstrations has dropped
and those that have gone ahead have seen smaller numbers.
The restriction has mainly hit activists and small business owners, who rely on social media for advertising and customers.
One
prominent Chadian blogger Deuh'b Emmanuel, told the BBC: "Without
Facebook, without access to social media, it's like being in prison
without a cell."
Some Chadians have
managed to get around the ban by using internet proxies known as Virtual
Private Networks (VPN). Although VPNs are free to use, some people told
the BBC that they ultimately benefit telecommunications companies as
social media platforms take longer to load and eat up more data.
However,
the ban only affects a small number of people in Chad, just 4.9 percent
of the population regularly accesses the internet, according to data
gathered by Internet World Statistics.
- What has the government said?
Activists have always blamed the government for the social media cut.
However, the authorities remained silent for a long time. Several ministries rejected responsibility.
The body in charge of electronic and postal communications, Arcep, said it received the order from the interior ministry.
On
Wednesday, government spokesman Oumar Yaya Hissein told the BBC
reporter that the ban had been imposed for "security reasons".
- Why has it lasted this long?
The government considers social media a serious threat.
Rebel
movements hostile to President Deby are still active in the country. In
February, the French military, at the request of the Chadian army,
attacked a heavily armed rebel convoy arriving from Libya.
According
to a security official interviewed by BBC, the government believes
social media could enable rebel leaders to recruit more young people.
There
have also been cases of civilians capturing unlawful killings and
beatings and publishing them online, which the government is keen to
stop.
- Will the government restore access to social media?
It
seems highly unlikely. A group of Chadian lawyers took
telecommunication companies to court in August 2018 in an attempt to
restore social media access but lost the case. The lawyers appealed but
the appeal court on Thursday dismissed their case, citing "security
reasons" for the social media cut.
The
collective of lawyers, lead by Daïnoné Frédéric and Frédéric
Nanadjingué, have said they will now try to get the ban overturned by
appealing to international authorities.
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