from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Sudan is the latest African country to block access to the internet to deal with public unrest.
The world’s newest country faces intermittent crises and recently, at least two telecom providers – Zain South Sudan and MTN South Sudan – published notices on Facebook warning users that TikTok and Facebook would no longer be accessible.
South Sudan’s telecommunications regulator, the National Communication Authority, directed all internet service providers to block access to all social media accounts for a “minimum of 30 days” and a “maximum of 90 days.”
The authority said it issued its suspension orders to stop the social media spread of footage showing the killings of South Sudanese nationals in neighbouring Sudan, which triggered violent protests in South Sudan, including “revenge” killings of Sudanese nationals.
Muthoki Mumo, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Africa program coordinator, said blocking social media access was a blanket act of censorship and a disproportionate response to unrest that made it difficult for journalists to do their jobs and robbed the public of the diverse sources of news.
“South Sudanese authorities should immediately lift this social media suspension,” Mumo said.
In a press briefing last Thursday, National Communication Authority director general, Napoleon Adok Gai, was quoted as saying there was a possibility that the social media ban would be lifted within 72 hours.
However, at the time of publishing, the ban remained in place.
– CAJ News