What do Zimbabwe’s internet disruptions say about the state of digital rights in the country? · Global Voices
Zimbabwe's January internet disruptions sent a chilling message to citizens that internet access is a favor, not a right. Here, two men in Harare, Zimbabwe, rest on a ledge mid-day. Photo by <PERSON> via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0.
Millions of Zimbabweans will remember January 2019 for spiraling prices for basic commodities, a massive fuel price hike, and multiple unexpected internet disruptions which lasted for several days.
When protesters took to the streets of Harare, the capital, to speak out against the dramatic 150 percent fuel price hike, the military responded with a brutal clampdown that took many by surprise. Clashes left scores of protesters injured or tortured and at least 12 dead.
As activists turned to social media to mobilize the protests and draw attention to Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economy , President <PERSON>'s administration responded with restricting access to social media and entire networks in certain areas of the country on the grounds of national security .
Between January 14-21, citizens had difficulties accessing their bank accounts or communicating effectively with friends and family. 424
All businesses and shops shut down as soldiers patrolled the streets.
The government issued directives from the president's office, channeled through the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) toward mobile and fixed telephony companies to restrict access to entire networks until further notice.
According to Netblocks internet shutdown observatory, the January disruptions included total network shutdowns that took Bulawayo, and Harare, the capital, offline, and restrictions on access to social media platforms and messaging apps including Facebook and Whatsapp.
The disruptions were partially lifted a few days later, but a ban on accessing certain social media services remained until it was lifted on January 21, hours after the country’s High Court deemed the ban ‘’illegal’’.
Zimbabweans now live in fear that a shutdown can happen again at any time on the government’s whim; authorities seem to view digital rights as a favor granted to citizens rather than a constitutional right.
‘Digital rights thwarted’
While <PERSON>'s administration made a public commitment to opening up the media, he seems to follow in the footsteps of former President <PERSON>, who was also intolerant of freedom of expression and freedom of information before the military deposed him in November 2017 — effectively ending his 37-year rule.
Government officials have repeatedly described access to social media as a potential threat, hinting that similar actions to the January shutdown would not be ruled out.
In fact, in the aftermath of last January's disruptions, <PERSON>, the Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, said that the government would not hesitate to shut down the internet in the future, referring to citizens as “primitive people (…) who don’t understand the meaning of peaceful demonstrations.”
In early July, the Minister of Information Communication Technology, <PERSON>, issued a warning on what he termed abuse of the internet and social media in The Herald:
“There is a lot of photoshopping and negative falsehoods which are being peddled on social media. What really has gotten into us as a people? … Let's be very careful with what we see on social media. Not everything that we see on social media is true.”
International and regional treaties signed by Zimbabwe
On paper, Zimbabwe is a signatory to various international and regional protocols committing states to safeguard and promote freedom of expression including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Zimbabwe is also committed to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Culture Information and Sport, which deals with information availability, infrastructure, freedom of media and code of ethics.
Such statements by government officials demonstrate the fragile state of digital rights in Zimbabwe, activists said.
Internet Society of Zimbabwe chapter president, <PERSON>, pointed out that the disruptions experienced are an indication that ”the authorities would violate digital rights in future if they sense a security threat as a result of protests”.
”The fact that the government was compelled to lift the ban on a technicality and not on the basis of infringing [upon] digital rights gives credence to the assertion that in the future, the government will possibly issue another blanket internet shutdown using the ‘correct’ office”, he told Global Voices in an interview.
The technicality is based on Zimbabwe's High Court ruling that the state security minister had no authority to order mobile operators to restrict internet access to customers during the January 2019 protests. Internet services were restored after this ruling.
“The shutting down of the internet in January this year set a bad precedent which will ensure this continues to happen in the future. 424