The Zimbabwe governments has taken to censoring a variety of
apps and sites, especially around times of unrest. But people across the
country are increasingly seeking out ways to work around the blocks. When it
comes to internet shutdowns, African nations are among the world’s worst
violators.
Following the coup, Mnangagwa and others in the regime
recast themselves as reformers who had brought about the end of the Mugabe era,
the hope being that biting economic and financial sanctions from the EU and US
would end. However, following the dubious elections, the international community
refused to be fooled by the military exercises of the people who were really
Mugabe’s enforcers.
Zimbabwe’s government is getting increasingly sophisticated
from targeting social media networks and not entire internet infrastructures,
which are vital to economic growth to shutting down the whole internet.
The internet blocks are undermining productivity and costing
jobs and income. In fact, cutoffs affect not only formal government revenues
but also the informal sector. “Grey” economies are vital in Zimbabwe and the
global south, given the number of people employed and the level of cash
transactions.
Attempts by the government to introduce the Cyber Crime and
Data Protection Bill this year were met by resistance since it reduces social
media communication and blocks citizens’ democratic rights. The bill is yet to
be passed.
How The Internet Reacted
To The Shutdown
