Shutdowns as governance. African states run the same playbook with less scrutiny.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered authorities to begin restoring internet access for the population, ending the longest blackout in any country's history.
While Iran's internet blackout grabs headlines as the world's longest, African nations from Chad to Ethiopia have weaponized digital shutdowns with alarming frequency, yet our continental struggles with authoritarian connectivity control rarely receive the same sustained international scrutiny. The Tehran regime's fear of unrestricted information mirrors tactics deployed across Africa, where governments routinely sever digital lifelines during elections or protests, revealing how internet access has become the ultimate litmus test for political legitimacy from Lagos to Luanda.
While Iran's internet blackout grabs headlines as the world's longest, African nations from Chad to Ethiopia have weaponized digital shutdowns with alarming frequency, yet our continental struggles with authoritarian connectivity control rarely receive the same sustained international scrutiny. The Tehran regime's fear of unrestricted information mirrors tactics deployed across Africa, where governments routinely sever digital lifelines during elections or protests, revealing how internet access has become the ultimate litmus test for political legitimacy from Lagos to Luanda.
SUMMARY BY STRATA-AF™ · ORIGINAL REPORTING BY EGYPT INDEPENDENT
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