Chad makes news by being without internet. The CNN story is a year-old, but it has become a reality again. CNN ran a story last year titled, “The Country Where the Internet has been Shut Down for a Year.”
That headline only told part of the story. Social media had been shut down for a complete year from the writing of the article on April 19th, 2019, and the restrictions were finally lifted on July 19th, 3 more months later.
It was rather amazing that CNN carried that story. CNN stated that the reason no one hears about things like this, is that Chad receives very little international media coverage.
CNN mentioned that the blackout began immediately after Chad’s president announced changes in the Chad constitution that would allow him to stay in power until 2033. Chad’s government stated that the blackout was put in place for security because internet had been hijacked for “malicious” reasons.
Fast Forward to Today
Why talk about this now? Because beginning about 2-1/2 months ago, Chad shut down the internet for the entire country again. This time, it was not just social media, it was everything.
Thankfully, a few weeks ago, the capital and a few main cities had internet restored. The reasons behind the shutdown this time are not clear, but it seems that a video was moving across the internet showing abuses by certain parties within Chad. Chad’s government says the current shut down is to control the spread of messages inciting hate.
Now to put things in perspective, only around 6 percent of the population of Chad had internet access as of 2017, so though the lack of internet did affect some people, most Chadians have not felt the impact of the shutdown.
So, the next time your internet seems a little slow, or you are having a hard time connecting, be grateful that you actually have access. Be grateful that you don’t have to wait a full year to have your internet access restored.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/africa/chad-restores-internet-intl/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/24/africa/chad-internet-shutdown-intl/index.html