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<!doctype html><html lang=en><head><meta charset=utf-8><meta name=viewport content='initial-scale=1,width=device-width'><title>Ethiopia: Internet Shutdown Amidst Recent Protests? | OONI</title> <link rel=canonical href=https://ooni.org/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/><meta name=description content="Nearly 100 deaths and thousands of arrests have been reported in Ethiopia over the last days, as part of protests against the marginalization and persecution of the Oromos and Amharas, Ethiopia鈥檚 two largest ethnic groups. But the attacks and arrests may not have been the only forms of retribution carried out by the Ethiopian government in its crackdown against protesters. Last weekend, the internet was reportedly shut down in the country. In an attempt to understand whether the internet was in fact shut down, we looked at some public sources of data that contain information about internet traffic. Such data provides strong indicators that the internet was most likely shut down during the Ethiopian protests last weekend, though it remains unclear if this occurred in all regions and/or on all types of networks across the country."><meta property="og:title" content="Ethiopia: Internet Shutdown Amidst Recent Protests?"><meta property="og:description" content="Nearly 100 deaths and thousands of arrests have been reported in Ethiopia over the last days, as part of protests against the marginalization and persecution of the Oromos and Amharas, Ethiopia鈥檚 two largest ethnic groups. But the attacks and arrests may not have been the only forms of retribution carried out by the Ethiopian government in its crackdown against protesters. Last weekend, the internet was reportedly shut down in the country. In an attempt to understand whether the internet was in fact shut down, we looked at some public sources of data that contain information about internet traffic. Such data provides strong indicators that the internet was most likely shut down during the Ethiopian protests last weekend, though it remains unclear if this occurred in all regions and/or on all types of networks across the country."><meta property="og:type" content="article"><meta property="og:url" content="https://ooni.org/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/"><meta property="article:published_time" content="2016-08-10T00:00:00+00:00"><meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-11-26T22:44:45+01:00"><meta name=twitter:card content="summary"><meta name=twitter:title content="Ethiopia: Internet Shutdown Amidst Recent Protests?"><meta name=twitter:description content="Nearly 100 deaths and thousands of arrests have been reported in Ethiopia over the last days, as part of protests against the marginalization and persecution of the Oromos and Amharas, Ethiopia鈥檚 two largest ethnic groups. But the attacks and arrests may not have been the only forms of retribution carried out by the Ethiopian government in its crackdown against protesters. Last weekend, the internet was reportedly shut down in the country. In an attempt to understand whether the internet was in fact shut down, we looked at some public sources of data that contain information about internet traffic. Such data provides strong indicators that the internet was most likely shut down during the Ethiopian protests last weekend, though it remains unclear if this occurred in all regions and/or on all types of networks across the country."><link rel=stylesheet type=text/css href=/css/bootstrap.min.e2d14d1a1dcdfab34aba5963e76f1aa59cc3291ce469f4336bdbddcea78ab123.css><link rel=stylesheet type=text/css href=/css/index.min.a73d0006e4d94a4799760881ae0dc944e6c5024aae2ef29b387102b5901c0653.css><link rel=icon type=image/png href=/images/favicon.png><script type=text/javascript src=https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ooni-run/dist/widgets.js defer></script><script defer src=https://eu.umami.is/script.js data-website-id=6c8fa418-795c-41cc-9840-40c43a88648a domains=ooni.org,ooni.github.io,ooni.netlify.com,openobservatory.github.io></script></head><body><nav class="navbar mb-4" id=navbar><div class=container><div class="d-flex flex-column flex-lg-row"><div class="d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div class=nav-menu-brand><a href=/><img src=/images/logos/ooni-horizontal.svg alt="OONI Logo"></a></div><button class="nav-menu-btn d-lg-none" id=menu-btn aria-label="Toggle the menu"> <img src=/images/menu-open.svg class="nav-menu-btn-icon nav-menu-btn-icon_open" alt="Open the menu"> <img src=/images/menu-close.svg class="nav-menu-btn-icon nav-menu-btn-icon_close" alt="Close the menu"></button></div><div class=nav-menu><div class="d-flex flex-column flex-lg-row align-items-start"><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/about/>About</a></div><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/nettest/>Tests</a></div><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/data/>Data</a></div><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/get-involved/>Get Involved</a></div><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/reports/>Reports</a></div><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/blog/>Blog</a></div><div class=nav-menu-item><a href=/donate/>Donate</a></div></div><div class=nav-menu-install><a href=/install/ class="btn explorer-button">Install OONI Probe</a></div></div></div></nav><script type=text/javascript>var navbar=document.getElementById("navbar"),menuBtn=document.getElementById("menu-btn");menuBtn.addEventListener("click",function(){navbar.classList.toggle("navbar_opened")})</script><div class=container><main class="blog-post col"><h1 class=article-title>Ethiopia: Internet Shutdown Amidst Recent Protests?</h1><div class=byline><span class=author>Moses Karanja (CIPIT), Maria Xynou, Arturo Filast貌</span> <span class=date>2016-08-10</span></div><p>Nearly 100 deaths and thousands of arrests have been <a href=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37015055>reported</a> in Ethiopia over the last days, as part of protests against the marginalization and persecution of the Oromos and Amharas, Ethiopia鈥檚 two largest ethnic groups. But the attacks and arrests may not have been the only forms of retribution carried out by the Ethiopian government in its crackdown against protesters.</p><p>Last weekend, the internet was <a href=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36940906>reportedly</a> shut down in the country.</p><p>In an attempt to understand whether the internet was in fact shut down, we looked at some public sources of data that contain information about internet traffic. Such data provides strong indicators that the internet was most likely shut down during the Ethiopian protests last weekend, though it remains unclear if this occurred in all regions and/or on all types of networks across the country.</p><h2 id=ethiopian-protests>Ethiopian protests</h2><p>Ongoing <a href=http://africanarguments.org/2016/08/06/ethiopias-unprecedented-nationwide-oromo-protests-who-what-why/>protests</a> have been carried out by Ethiopia鈥檚 Oromo people since November 2015, marking one of the most significant political developments in Ethiopia in recent years. These protests were sparked by the introduction of the <a href=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-14/ethiopia-oromo-protests-trigger-fatal-ethnic-clashes-group-says>Addis Ababa City Integrated Master Plan</a>, which aims to expand the territorial limits of the country鈥檚 capital into neighbouring Oromo towns, threatening to displace millions of Oromo farmers and bring the Oromo-dominated region under Tigray-led federal government.</p><p>The unprecedented wave of protests has resulted in more than 400 deaths over the last months, according to a recent <a href=https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/16/such-brutal-crackdown/killings-and-arrests-response-ethiopias-oromo-protests>Human Rights Watch report</a>.</p><p>More <a href=http://africanarguments.org/2016/08/06/ethiopias-unprecedented-nationwide-oromo-protests-who-what-why/>protests sprung up in the Amhara regional state</a>, with protesters requesting for political reforms and specifically, the Welkait community demanding that ancestral land currently administered by the Tigray regional state be moved into the neighbouring Amhara region.</p><p>The new-found unity between the two historically antagonistic communities of the Oromo and Amharas against a common adversary, the TPLF-led government, seems to have raised the tension in the country. The security forces response has been extreme, with observers <a href=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article57643>comparing</a> it to the 2005 post-election violence where nearly 200 people were killed. This time though, at least <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/ethiopia-dozens-killed-as-police-use-excessive-force-against-peaceful-protesters/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=quote&utm_term=The+security+forces%25u2019+response+was+heavy-handed%2c+but+unsurprising.+Ethiopian+forces+have+systematically+used+excessive+force+in+their+mistaken+attempts+to+silence+dissenting+voices&utm_campaign=social">30 people were reportedly killed</a> in the Amhara region in one day alone.</p><h2 id=internet-shutdown>Internet shutdown</h2><p>Protesters relied on the internet to plan, mobilize and coordinate with each other and this may have <a href=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36940906>prompted the Ethiopian government</a> to pull the plug on the internet even before the planned protests started.</p><p>But this is not the first time that the Ethiopian government appears to be restricting access to the internet this year.</p><p>Last month, the government <a href=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36763572>reportedly</a> blocked social media sites across the country after <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102310909934763&set=pb.215693.-2207520000.1470776183.&type=3&theater">University entrance exams were leaked on Facebook</a> by an Oromo activist, as a form of protest against the government.</p><p>Public data from last weekend indicates that the internet was shut down in Ethiopia during the heat of the protests, but it remains unclear if this occurred nationwide.</p><p>The graphs below illustrate that while internet traffic appeared to be originating from Ethiopia up until August 5th, such traffic was suddenly terminated until August 8th, indicating that the internet was probably shut down.</p><p><img alt="Ethiopia google traffic" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-google-traffic.png></p><p><img alt="Ethiopia youtube traffic" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-youtube-traffic.png></p><p><img alt="Ethiopia gmail traffic" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-gmail-traffic.png></p><p>Google products traffic for users from Ethiopia from July 22nd to August 8th</p><p><img alt="Ethiopia NDT Measurements" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-ndt-measurements.png></p><p>NDT measurements started by users from July 20th to August 8th</p><p>The following graph, which we created based on tweets geotagged in Ethiopia from 3rd-9th August, also illustrates a decrease of Twitter activity.</p><p><img alt="Ethiopia Tweets" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-tweets.png></p><p>Similarly, <a href=https://metrics.torproject.org/>Tor metrics data</a> below illustrates that there was a decrease in the usage of <a href=https://www.torproject.org/>Tor</a> last weekend, which could be viewed as an indicator of the internet being restricted or shut down in certain types of networks.</p><p><img alt="Ethiopia tor metrics" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-tor-metrics.png></p><p><img alt="Ethiopia tor metrics" src=/post/ethiopia-internet-shutdown-amidst-recent-protests/ethiopia-tor-metrics-2.png></p><p>Tor metrics data for direct connecting users</p><p>The data included in the graphs above shows that while the internet was likely shut down in certain regions and/or types of networks, it probably wasn鈥檛 shut down completely across Ethiopia. It might also have been the case that access to certain websites was restricted in regions and/or networks where the internet was accessible, though we unfortunately don鈥檛 have any recent <a href=https://explorer.ooni.org/country/ET>OONI measurements</a> from Ethiopia to verify this.</p><h2 id=keepiton-campaign>#KeepItOn campaign</h2><p>Internet shutdowns effectively pose restrictions on demonstrations and on human rights generally.</p><p>In the recent case of Ethiopia, shutting down the internet in the middle of intense protests likely not only had an effect on the mobilization and coordination of protesters, but also on the communication between families and friends of victims. This also likely had an effect on journalists reporting on the protests in real-time on the ground, if they were using networks that were blocked.</p><p>An Al Jazeera reporter in Addis Ababa cited difficulties to connect to the internet and restricted travel to protest zones as a cause for limited coverage of the protests.</p><blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=en dir=ltr>Internet back after 48 hours of total blackout across the whole <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ethiopia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ethiopia</a>. However, it's still blocked in Amhara & oromia region.</p>— EA Observer (@horn__observer) <a href="https://twitter.com/horn__observer/status/762569928205533184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2016</a></blockquote><script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js></script><p>But Ethiopia is not the only country restricting access to the internet during political events.</p><p>At least <a href=https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton/#resources>20 cases of internet shutdowns</a> have been documented worldwide over the last six months alone. In response to this, <a href=https://www.accessnow.org/>Access Now</a> is leading a campaign in collaboration with organizations around the world called #KeepItOn.</p><p>The <a href=https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton/>#KeepItOn</a> campaign aims to document and raise awareness about internet shutdowns around the world. We support this campaign, and we hope you will too.</p><hr><p>This article was drafted as part of a collaboration between <a href=https://ooni.org/>OONI</a> and the <a href=https://www.cipit.org/>Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT)</a> department of Strathmore University.</p></main></div><footer class=p-4><div class=container><div class=row><div class="col-12 col-md-4"><div class=pb-2><img src=/images/logos/ooni-horizontal.svg height=32px alt="OONI Logo"></div><div class=pb-4>Global community measuring internet censorship around the world.</div><div><div>漏 2025 Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)</div><div><a href=https://github.com/ooni/license>Content available under a Creative Commons license.</a></div></div></div><div class="col-12 col-md-8"><div class=row><div class="mt-3 col-sm"><div class=footer-section-title>About</div><div class=pt-1><a href=/about/>OONI</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=/about/data-policy/>Data Policy</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=/about/privacy-policy/>Privacy Policy</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://github.com/ooni/license/tree/master/data>Data License</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=/about/#contact>Contact</a></div></div><div class="mt-3 col-sm"><div class=footer-section-title>OONI Probe</div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://ooni.org/install/>Install</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://ooni.org/nettest/>Tests</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://github.com/ooni>Source code</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://api.ooni.io/>API</a></div></div><div class="mt-3 col-sm"><div class=footer-section-title>Updates</div><div class=pt-1><a href=/post/>Blog</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ooni-talk>Mailing list</a></div><div class=pt-1><a href=https://slack.ooni.org/>Slack</a></div><ul class="pt-1 footer-links-social"><li><a class=twitter href=https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory>Twitter (@OpenObservatory)</a></li><li><a class=youtube href=https://www.youtube.com/c/OONIorg>Youtube (OONIorg)</a></li><li><a class=facebook href=https://facebook.com/ooni.org>Facebook (ooni.org)</a></li><li><a class=instagram href=https://www.instagram.com/openobservatory/>Instagram (@OpenObservatory)</a></li><li><a class=mastodon rel=me href=https://mastodon.social/@ooni>Mastodon (@ooni@mastodon.social)</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div></footer></body></html>