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The good thing is that there are free tools to circumvent such similar violations on the of freedom of expression. Please feel ​free to reach out to reach out to Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline, through which activists, independent media, and civil society organizations across the globe can get real-time, direct technical assistance and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Last Friday (12th) our 24 hour  Digital Security Helpline and some of our local partners detected a minor outage that lasted​ not more than an hour and this made us prepare for any eventuality.

This is part of an unfortunate and growing trend. Rather than an exception, internet shutdowns are becoming the norm as more governments order the suspension or throttling of entire networks. Often justified for public safety purposes, shutdowns instead cut off access to vital information and emergency services, plunging whole societies into darkness.

This is despite previous research showing that Internet Shutdowns and state violence Go hand in hand, and this is something Access Now and local partners documented while dealing with Internet Shutdowns in Egypt, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Burundi, among other places outside the African Union member states.

A growing body of jurisprudence declares shutdowns to violate international law. U.N. and regional human rights experts issued an historic statement declaring that internet “kill switches” can never be justified under international human rights law, even in times of conflict. General Comment 34 of the Human Rights Committee, the official interpreter of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasizes that restrictions on speech online must be strictly necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate purpose.

In times of shutdown, it is incumbent on the entire tech and telecom sector to join together to assert the rights of their users to freedom of expression, access to information, and assembly. Only by presenting a united front, and calling out the disproportionate and harmful impacts of government-ordered shutdowns, will the sector begin to mitigate and eventually prevent this abusive tactic.

Please feel free to enlist the help of Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline, through which activists, independent media, and civil society organizations across the globe can get real-time, direct technical assistance and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These services, include:

1. Rapid response on digital security incidents
2. Personalized recommendations, instruction, and follow-up support on digital security issues
3. Help assessing risks and creating organizational or community security strategies
4. Guidance on security practices and tools for organizations, communities, groups, and individuals
5. Support for securing technical infrastructure, websites, and social media against attacks
6. Referrals, capacity-building, in-person consultations, and training
7. Education materials in multiple languages