Chad: Months-long social media outages continue as of January 2019 /update 3

Event

Individuals in Chad remain unable to access various social media networks (Facebook, Viber, Whatsapp) as of mid-January 2019. The outages have been ongoing since the first week of April 2018 without any explanation from the authorities or telecommunication companies. Associations, individuals, and lawyers are denouncing the situation as a violation of the right to free expression and communication. The Chadian NGO Internet Without Borders has called for action to be taken in the near-term to pressure the government. While no definitive actions have been announced as of yet, associated protests - with the potential to turn violent - may occur.

Context

Public access to social media networks has been cut during periods of high sociopolitical tensions in the recent past in Chad, including during the presidential election in April 2016. 

Advice

Individuals present in Chad are advised to avoid all potential protests due to the possibility of violence.