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12 Apps And Websites That Have Been Blocked And Censored In Africa

12 Apps And Websites That Have Been Blocked And Censored In Africa

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In many parts of the world, citizens are constitutionally guaranteed the right — and take it for granted — that they can talk to whoever they want, whenever they want, about whatever they want as long as they aren’t hurting anyone or inciting violence.

It’s not a guaranteed right everywhere, and in times of war, even less so. People are still fighting, dying and being locked up in the name of free speech. The reasons governments block websites sometimes have less to do with freedom than other things…like money and security concerns.

Here are 12 apps and websites that have been blocked and censored in Africa. This will surprise you.

Source: Eff.org

Aljazeera.com
Aljazeera.com

AlJazeera.com, Ethiopia

AlJazeera aired coverage of Ethiopians criticizing government involvement in Muslim affairs, and later of protests in the country against protocol for spiritual leader elections. The site saw a major drop in viewers in the country. Traffic from Ethiopia to AlJazeera.com went down from 50,000 hits to just 114 shortly after this coverage, according to AlJazeera.com.

Skype.com
Skype.com

Skype, Egypt

In late 2015, Skype users hoping to have free video chats with friends and family received an alarming note: the site would be blocked until further notice. The reason for the block was financial and had to do with competition, according to Wamda.com. Skype was blamed for a major reduction in phone calls which caused telecommunications companies to lose money.

thisisafrica.me
thisisafrica.me

Whatsapp, Egypt

Only the voice-call feature of Whatsapp is blocked in Egypt, reportedly for the same reason as Skype is blocked. Customer service representatives for the app initially denied the voice-call feature had been blocked, but after pressure, they told users who complained that the blocking decision was ordered by Egypt’s telecommunications regulator, the NTRA, according to Slate.com.

135199855 facebook logo reflected in glasses
Getty

Facebook, Egypt

At the same time Egypt blocked Whatsapp and Skype, it also put a block on Facebook voice calls. At first, consumers believed this was because telecommunications companies wanted to make more money off conventional calls. There has since been speculation that the government banned these types of services because they are hard to monitor for terrorist activity, according to Softpedia.com.

Youtube.com
Youtube.com

Youtube, Eritrea

Youtube has been partially blocked in Eritrea. Two major Internet service providers in the country stopped giving customers access to Youtube in 2013. The government requires all Internet service providers to use state-controlled Internet infrastructure, Motherjones.com reported. Other sources suggest the site was blocked because it requires too much bandwidth.

Tribune.com.pk
Tribune.com.pk

Youtube, Libya

Libya censored Youtube briefly. After the website hosted videos of killings related to social activism, Libya blocked Youtube for 574 days, says Motherjones.com.

Naspers Launching Video On Demand In South Africa
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, foxbusiness.com

Netflix, South Africa

Show junkies in South Africa who want to do a little binge watching on Netflix have had to use a virtual private network (VPN). Unfortunately for those counting on VPNs to use the website, Netflix recently forbade them from doing so in its new terms & conditions, according to Htxt.co.za.

news.yahoo.com
news.yahoo.com

Facebook, Mauritius

Mauritius blocked the Facebook social media site for one day after a Facebook user made a fake profile, claiming it belonged to the prime minister of the country. Users regained full use of the site the next day, says Indexoncensorship.org.

Google-earth.en.softonic.com
Google-earth.en.softonic.com

Google Earth, Morocco

Maroc Telecom, Morocco’s main telecommunications company, allegedly blocked Google Earth in 2006. Maroc made claims that difficulty accessing the site was due to glitches in the Google product, and not any decision on their part, says Spsrasd.info.

Freelogovectors.net
Freelogovectors.net

LiveJournal, Morocco

LiveJournal was briefly blocked in Morocco, but it is accessible again. The country has blocked several sites that claiming independence of Western Sahara, says Spsrasd.info.

Lakome2.com
Lakome2.com

 

Lakome.com, Morocco

The politically independent online newspaper Lakome posted an Al Queda video in 2013, and shortly afterwards, the site—both its French and Arabic versions—was blocked. Authorities arrested the site’s editor for posting the video, says Eff.org.

Anonymizer.com
Anonymizer.com

Anonymizer.com Morocco

Morocco blocked the site Anonymizer.com, an American website that allows users to get around the Internet anonymously. The blocking occurred shortly after Reporters without Borders, a nonprofit devoted to freedom of information, recommended the site to its readers, says Rsf.org.