According to internet blockage monitor NetBlocks, service to social media sites Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram has been restored in Ethiopia after they were limited earlier on Monday.

Read also: Ethiopia’s Financial Services Sector Gradually Gives Way To Foreigners

Here Is What You Need To Know

• Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram were restricted in Ethiopia, according to network data, the London-based watchdog said in a tweet earlier on Monday. NetBlocks, according to its director Alp Toker, observed the restrictions in six locations across Ethiopia.

• On Monday morning, Shumete Gizaw, the head of Ethiopia’s Information Network Service Agency, did not immediately respond to phone calls and text messages seeking comment.

• Telecommunications monopoly regulated by the government Frehiwot Tamiru, the CEO of Ethio Telecom, did not immediately return phone calls or text messages requesting comment.

• Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Reddit, among other platforms, had remained available, according to Toker. He added that users with connections to VPN services were able to circumvent the restrictions.

• Due to logistical difficulties, Ethiopia’s electoral board postponed parliamentary elections on June 5 to an unspecified date, the second time the vote has been postponed since the original August 2020 date was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In the past, internet access in Ethiopia has been limited during times of political instability, such as last year in Tigray’s northern region after the military launched an offensive against regional forces attacking its bases there.

• NetBlocks reported that an internet outage in June 2019 cost the country’s economy $17 million.

Ethiopia social media Ethiopia social media

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer