gulftoday.ae | Sudan restricts social media access to counter protesters

3.1.19

gulftoday.ae | Sudan restricts social media access to counter protesters: Sudan has been rocked by near-daily demonstrations over the past two weeks. Protesters have set alight ruling party buildings and have called on President Omar Al Bashir, who took power in 1989, to step down.

In a country where the state tightly controls traditional media, the internet has become a key information battleground. Of Sudan's 40 million people, some 13 million use the internet and more than 28 million own mobile phones, local media say.

Authorities have not repeated the internet blackout they imposed during deadly protests in 2013. But the head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service, Salah Abdallah, told a rare news conference on Dec. 21: "There was a discussion in the government about blocking social media sites and in the end it was decided to block them."