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Why Has Cameroon Blocked the Internet? (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the no-internet dept.

It has been over three weeks since English-speaking parts of Cameroon, a country on the west coast of Africa between Nigeria and Gabon, has had no internet connectivity. Residents believe, according to a BBC report, that the government is behind it. From the report: The two regions affected, South-West and North-West, have seen anti-government protests in recent months. Just a day before services disappeared, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued a statement in which it warned social media users of criminal penalties if they were to "issue or spread information, including by way of electronic communications or information technology systems, without any evidence." There has been no official comment about the internet since then (or any credible reports of technical faults) leading many Cameroonians to conclude that the severing of services is part of government attempts to stifle dissent. In criticising their government, some Cameroonians have also taken aim at the mobile phone companies who provide the services through which many access the internet. These firms may not have been able to prevent the outage, since they all rely on fibre-optic infrastructure provided by a state-owned company, but nor have they been objecting publicly about the interruption to their services.

3 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Because it's a totalitarian government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Block internet ==> I now know you are not a government worthy of honor or power.

    1. Re:Because it's a totalitarian government by unrtst · · Score: 1, Interesting

      What is disappointing is this Trump-ish trend of ending a less-than-140-char phrase with one or two perfunctory words, as if something as nondescript as "sad" could possibly be an appropriate response to anything. It's tempting to do it, even in jest, because it's so damn easy, but it's no longer funny.

  2. Re:Sounds nefarious by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This idea that America needs to try and help every country in the world when we have our own problems is what gets people like Trump elected.

    Standing up for human rights worldwide does not diminish our ability to deal with our own problems. A far better argument is that efforts to "fix" other countries have been futile and counterproductive. Look at North Korea and Cuba. We have isolated and embargoed them for decades, and their oppressive regimes have lasted far longer than any others. The Castro and Kim dynasties would likely be long forgotten if they had been unable to blame their economic incompetence on foreign devils, and unable to accuse their opponents of being American stooges.