Ethiopian regime blocks social media

ESAT News (July 12, 2016)

The Ethiopian regime has said it has blocked social media to keep students sitting for university entrance exams from distraction. But critics believe that it was an excuse to censor the internet by a regime that is also a leading jailer of journalists.

Facebook, Twitter, Viber and Instagram were all blocked by the latest crackdown by the government.

The move came after what was believed to be a copy of the tests surfaced on social media last week.

The regime was forced to postpone the nationwide exam in May after leaked copies of the test were shared on social media.

Clampdown on the internet is not new in Ethiopia. Websites that are critical to the regime remained blocked.

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last week declared that access to the internet is a basic human right.