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The internet was last cut-off in May 2011 in the lead up to planned demonstrations inspired by the
early-2011 anti-government protests in the Middle East,
28
though it remains unclear whether the
cause was a deliberate government attempt to restrict communication at a sensitive time, a
technical problem, or sabotage of a fiber-optic cable. Separately, when high-profile international
events, such as African Union meetings, take place in Addis Ababa or other major cities, the
government has been known to redirect much of the country’s bandwidth to the host venues,
leaving ordinary users with even slower connections than usual.
The Ethiopian Telecommunications Agency (ETA) is the primary regulatory body overseeing the
telecommunications sector. Although it was established as an autonomous federal agency, in
practice, the ETA is tightly controlled by the government. In addition, the space for independent
initiatives, entrepreneurial or otherwise, is extremely limited.
29
In 2011, the government began
granting permission to private companies that run internet-dependent operations to acquire and use
VSAT links,
30
connections previously reserved for governmental and international organizations per
special authorization.
31
Under the new directive, private companies are supposedly permitted to
use the technology for their own operations, but bureaucratic redtape significantly hinders the
service.
32
Moreover, the directive does not allow companies to provide services to third parties,
enabling Ethio Telecom to maintain its monopoly on public internet access.
Despite repeated international pressure to liberalize telecommunications in Ethiopia, the
government has been reluctant to ease its grip on the sector.
33
In early 2013, management of the
state-owned Ethio Telecom fell back into government hands after a two-year management
agreement with France Telecom expired in December 2012.
34
In addition to this state monopoly,
increasing corruption in the telecommunications sector has been highlighted as a major reason for
poor and unrealizable telecom services in Ethiopia.
35
According to a 2012 World Bank report, the
telecommunications sector in Ethiopia has the highest risk of corruption compared to other sectors
assessed, such as land, education, and construction, among others.
36
28
See Freedom on the Net 2012. Also, “Internet is Down Throughout Ethiopia – Update,” Ethiopian Review, May 26, 2011,
http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/33165.
29
Al Shiferaw, “Connecting Telecentres: An Ethiopian Perspective,” Telecentre Magazine, September 2008,
http://bit.ly/16DdF6Z.
30
“Private VSAT Permit Directive Number 2/2003” as noted in: “Ethiopia to Liberalise VSAT Market,” Screen Africa, November
16, 2011, http://www.screenafrica.com/page/news/industry/1097820‐Ethiopia‐to‐liberalise‐VSAT‐market.
31
Yelibenwork Ayele, “Companies in Ethiopia Permitted to Use VSAT,” 2Merkato, October 3, 2011,
http://www.2merkato.com/20111003380/companies‐in‐ethiopia‐permitted‐to‐use‐vsat.
32
Jon Evans, “The Unconquered Nation, Crippled By Bureaucrats,” TechCrunch, May 30, 2011,
http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/30/unconquered‐nation‐crippled‐ethiopia‐internet/.
33
“US urge Ethiopia to Liberalise Telecom Sector,” Africa News via Somali State, March 10, 2010,
http://www.somalistate.com/englishnewspage.php?articleid=4638; Technology Strategies International, “ICT Investment
Opportunities in Ethiopia—2010,” March 1, 2010, http://bit.ly/1bmsGvq.
34
“France Telecom’s Management Contract with Ethio Telecom Ends,” Telecompaper, January 4, 2013,
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/france‐telecoms‐management‐contract‐with‐ethio‐telecom‐ends‐‐917095; Meraf
Leykun, “The Management Contract with France Telecom concluded,” 2Merkato, January 4, 2013,
http://www.2merkato.com/the‐management‐contract‐with‐france‐telecom‐concluded.
35
Gabriella Mulligan, “Ethiopian Telecoms Sector Amongst Most Corrupt in Country,” Humanipo, January 16, 2013,
http://www.humanipo.com/news/3331/Ethiopian‐telecoms‐sector‐amongst‐most‐corrupt‐in‐country.
36
Janelle Plummer (ed.), Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia.
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China has emerged as a key investor and contractor in Ethiopia’s telecommunications sector,
37
and
in October 2012, the government signed new two-year contracts with the Chinese telecom
companies, Zhongxing Telecommunication Corporation (ZTE) and Huawei.
38
Given allegations
that the Chinese authorities have provided the Ethiopian government with technology that can be
used for political repression—such as surveillance cameras and satellite jamming equipment—in
the past,
39
the new contracts have led to increasing fears that the Chinese may also be assisting the
authorities in developing more robust internet and mobile phone censorship and surveillance
capacities (see “Violations of User Rights”).
Ethiopian authorities persistently deny engaging in online censorship,
40
but the results of the most
recent independent tests conducted by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) in 2012, and checked again by
Freedom House in January 2013, indicate otherwise. Both sets of tests found that the Ethiopian
government imposes nationwide, politically motivated internet filtering.
41
The blocking of websites
is somewhat sporadic, tending to tighten ahead of sensitive political events. This on again, off again
dynamic continued throughout 2012, especially during the disappearance of Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi and the subsequent announcement of his death in June 2012. There were also indications
that the technical sophistication of the government’s blocking has increased and that periods of
openness are shrinking.
The government’s approach to internet filtering has generally entailed hindering access to a list of
specific internet protocol (IP) addresses or domain names at the level of the international gateway,
though it is believed that the government has been introducing more sophisticated equipment
capable of blocking a webpage based on a keyword in the URL path.
42
In May 2012, the Tor
network—an online tool that enables users to browse anonymously—was blocked,
43
indicating
37
Isaac Idun‐Arkhurst and James Laing, The Impact of the Chinese Presence in Africa (London: africapractice, 2007),
http://www.davidandassociates.co.uk/davidandblog/newwork/China_in_Africa_5.pdf.
38
“ZTE, Huawei to Be Awarded Ethiopian Telecommunications Contracts,” Bloomberg, October 12, 2012,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012‐10‐11/zte‐huawei‐to‐be‐awarded‐ethiopian‐telecommunications‐contracts.html.
39
Hilina Alemu, “INSA Installing Street Surveillance Cameras,” Addis Fortune, March 21, 2010,
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20516%20Archive/INSA%20Installing%20Street%20Surrviellance%20Cameras
.htm; “China Involved in ESAT Jamming,” Addis Neger, June 22, 2010, http://addisnegeronline.com/2010/06/china‐involved‐in‐
esat‐jamming/.
40
“Ethiopia: Authorities Urged to Unblock Websites,” Integrated Regional Information Networks, May 25, 2006,
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=59115.
41
Irene Poetranto, “Update on Information Controls in Ethiopia,” OpenNet Initiative, November 1, 2012,
http://opennet.net/blog/2012/11/update‐information‐controls‐ethiopia.
42
Daniel Berhane, “Ethiopia’s Web Filtering: Advanced Technology, Hypocritical Criticisms, Bleeding Constitution,” Daniel
Berhane’s Blog, January 16, 2011, http://danielberhane.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/ethiopias‐web‐filtering‐advanced‐
technology‐hypocritical‐criticisms‐bleeding‐constitution/.
43
“Ethiopia Introduces Deep Packet Inspection,” Tor, May 31, 2012, https://blog.torproject.org/blog/ethiopia‐introduces‐deep‐
packet‐inspection.
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Ethio Telecom had deployed deep packet inspection to enable more sophisticated, selective
filtering of internet traffic.
44
The most recent ONI tests conducted from September 17-19, 2012 found that filtering by Ethio
Telecom focuses primarily on independent online news media, political blogs, and Ethiopian
human rights groups’ websites.
45
Of the 1,375 unique URLs tested, 73 were blocked, including the
online portals, Nazret and Cyber Ethiopia, and the websites of opposition movements such as the
Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners. Numerous news websites and forums
reporting on the imprisonment of bloggers and journalists, such as EthioMedia, Addis Voice, Addis
Neger, and Ethiopian Review were also found blocked,
46
in addition to the circumvention and
anonymization tools, Ultrasurf and Psiphon.
While ONI found the websites of international nongovernmental organizations such as Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders—all of which have
criticized the Ethiopian government’s human rights record—unblocked during its September 2012
test, independent tests conducted by Freedom House throughout 2012 found that the websites of
Freedom House, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International
were inaccessible at irregular intervals. Further, another test conducted by Freedom House in early
2013 found that 70 websites related to news and views, 16 websites belonging to different
Ethiopian political parties, 40 blogs, 7 audio-video websites, and 40 Facebook pages were not
accessible in Ethiopia.
47
As of April 2013, the above-mentioned websites, as well as those of Ethsat
(an independent exile television station) and Dilethiopia (an opposition website), remained
inaccessible.
International news outlets became increasingly targeted for censorship in the past year. Al Arabiya
and both of Al Jazeera’s Arabic and English websites were both blocked intermittently throughout
2012 and early 2013,
48
while the Washington Post became a new target for blocking after the paper
reported on the prime minister’s whereabouts in August 2012.
49
The article remained blocked as of
April 2013. An online Forbes article titled, “Requiem for a Reprobate Ethiopian Tyrant Should Not
Be Lionized,” which was written in response to the local and global praise of the late prime
minister’s debatable economic growth achievements, was also effectively blocked in August 2012
and remained so at the time of writing.
50
In addition, the website of a Swedish state broadcaster was blocked in September 2012 for
reporting on the release of two Swedish journalists who had been imprisoned for their alleged
44
Warwick Ashford, “Ethiopian Government Blocks Tor Network Online Anonymity,” Computer Weekly, June 28, 2012,
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240158237/Ethiopian‐government‐blocks‐Tor‐Network‐online‐anonymity.
45
Irene Poetranto, “Update on Information Controls in Ethiopia,” OpenNet Initiative, November 1, 2012,
http://opennet.net/blog/2012/11/update‐information‐controls‐ethiopia.
46
Poetranto, “Update on Information Controls in Ethiopia,”.
47
Independent test conducted by Freedom House consultant, early 2013.
48
“Ethiopia ‘Blocks’ Al Jazeera Websites,” Al Jazeera, March 18, 2013,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/03/201331793613725182.html.
49
Mohammed Ademo, “Media Restrictions Tighten in Ethiopia,” Columbia Journalism Review, August 13, 2012,
http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/ethiopia_news_crackdown.php?page=all.
50
Research conducted by Freedom House consultant.
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support of the Ogaden National Liberation Front rebel group.
51
Certain webpages were also
restricted in response to the series of weekly Muslims protests against religious discrimination by
the government in mid-2012, including the Facebook page and blog of protest organizers titled,
“Dimtsachin Yisema” (“Let Our Voice Be Heard”). Al Jazeera’s main website was blocked after it
published a discussion forum about the continuing Muslim protests.
52
In the past year, the authorities have become more sophisticated in their censorship techniques,
electing to block select webpages as opposed to entire websites. There are also worrying suspicions
that the authorities may have learned to block websites hosted on foreign servers. In April 2013,
one local human rights activist group confirmed that their website was blocked, despite being
hosted on both foreign and mirror servers.
53
In addition, some restrictions are placed on mobile
phones, such as the requirement for a text message to obtain prior approval from Ethio Telecom if
it is to be sent to more than ten recipients.
54
A bulk text message sent without prior approval is
automatically blocked.
Meanwhile, social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are available, though
worries have increased over potential government plans to block social media tools altogether.
These concerns were particularly pronounced following news about Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi’s health in July 2012, which provoked an intensified crackdown against the media.
55
In
response to the public debate circulating online over the prime minister’s whereabouts, the state-
run Ethiopian television station aired a special program to censure the role of social media in
society, blaming it for spreading false rumors, being destructive to society’s well-being, hampering
productivity, and undermining citizens’ rights.
56
The social media curation tool Storify was also
blocked during this period.
57
International blog-hosting platforms such as Blogspot have been frequently blocked since the
disputed parliamentary elections of 2005, during which the opposition used online communication
tools to organize and disseminate information that was critical of the ruling Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front .
58
In 2007, the government instituted a blanket block on the
domain names of two popular blog-hosting websites, Blogspot and Nazret, though the authorities
have since become more sophisticated in their censorship techniques, now blocking select pages
such as the Zone9 independent blog hosted on Blogspot,
59
as opposed to entire blogging platforms.
Nazret, however, remained completely blocked at the end of the coverage period. Circumvention
51
“Swedish State Television Website Blocked in Ethiopia,” Ethiopian Review, September 22, 2012,
http://www.ethiopianreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42883&p=239162.
52
Ademo, “Media Restrictions Tighten in Ethiopia.”.
53
Interview conducted by Freedom House consultant. All interviews were conducted in Ethiopia with subjects who requested
anonymity.
54
Interview with individuals working in the telecom sector, as well as a test conducted by a Freedom House consultant who
found it was not possible for an ordinary user to send out a bulk text message.
55
Ademo, “Media Restrictions Tighten in Ethiopia.”
56
Ademo, “Media Restrictions Tighten in Ethiopia.”.
57
Ademo, “Media Restrictions Tighten in Ethiopia.”.
58
Bogdan Popa, “Google Blocked in Ethiopia,” Softpedia, May 3, 2007, http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google‐Blocked‐In‐
Ethiopia‐53799.shtml.
59
Zone9 blog hosted at: http://zone9ethio.blogspot.com/.
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strategies have also been targeted, with the term “proxy” yielding no search results on Google,
according to an independent source. Some speculate that the search is being filtered through the
URL and instantly redirected to a fake Google website. Meanwhile, the terms “sex” or “porn” are
still searchable.
Procedures for determining which websites should be blocked and when are extremely opaque.
There are no published lists of blocked websites or publicly available criteria for how such decisions
are made, and users are met with an error message when trying to access a blocked website. This
lack of transparency is exacerbated by the government’s continued denial of its censorship efforts,
though in September 2012, the director of the Information Network Security Agency (INSA),
Brigadier General Tekleberahan Weldearegay, was quoted in an interview for the government-
owned Amharic-language magazine, Zemen, underscoring the “necessity” of blocking online content
that is harmful to Ethiopian society.
60
Meanwhile, the decision-making process does not appear to
be centrally controlled, as various governmental entities—including INSA and Ethio Telecom—
seem to be implementing their own lists, contributing to the phenomenon of inconsistent blocking.
In addition to increasing online censorship, politically objectionable content has been targeted for
removal, often by way of threats from security officials who personally seek out users and bloggers
to instruct them to take down certain content. The growing practice suggests that at least some
voices within Ethiopia’s small online community are being closely watched. In one notable
instance, a video of the late Meles Zenawi being heckled by an activist while in Washington D.C.
for a G8 meeting in early 2012 was taken down shortly after it was posted on online. Searching for
the video on YouTube and elsewhere has yielded no results except for other non-contentious
videos of Zenawi.
Lack of adequate funding represents another challenge for independent online media, as fear of
government pressure dissuades Ethiopian businesses from advertising with politically critical
websites. The authorities also use regime apologists, paid commentators, and pro-government
websites to proactively manipulate the online news and information landscape. Acrimonious
exchanges between commentators on apologist websites and a wide array of diaspora critics and
opposition forces have become common in online political debates. There was a noticeable increase
in the number of pro-government commentators in the past year, especially during the period of
speculation over Meles Zanawi’s disappearance.
Regime critics and opposition forces in the diaspora increasingly use the internet as a platform for
political debate and an indirect avenue for providing information to local newspapers. The domestic
Ethiopian blogosphere has been expanding, in spite of the blocks on blogging platforms since 2005,
though most of the blogging activity on Ethiopian issues still originates in the diaspora.
Furthermore, increased repression against journalists working in the traditional media and a
number of bloggers throughout 2012 has generated a chilling effect in the online sphere. Few
60
D. Tizazu, “Whose Hidden Agenda?” [in Amharic], Zemen, 2012.
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Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
