Following the recent anti-government protests, social media became a source of information and place to mobilize protests, as well as a platform for citizens to express their anger and frustration at the many killings and arrests they say the government has carried out. The government denies its forces are responsible for the deaths. Until recently, the government's response was to regulate social media by randomly blocking sites and VoIP (voice over internet protocol) applications.
The state of emergency tightened these controls to include any form of media and put extreme limits on the right to access information. An "emergency executive command post," which was established under the state of emergency, prohibits the dissemination through internet, text message, or social media any message deemed to "incite violence." Communication with "foreign elements" and watching the diaspora-based TV stations Oromo Media Network and Ethiopia Satellite Television is also prohibited. The announcement of the state of emergency was followed by a total shut down of mobile internet, social media, and all VoIP applications in Ethiopia.
The new rules have, in effect, suspended constitutional rights including freedom of expression. A translated draft of the directive for the executive command post does not explicitly mention what amounts to a "violence-inciting message" or who would decide what counts as "violence-inciting communication." The directive has also suspended the right of those arrested to be brought to court. Instead, the new body has the right to detain anyone suspected of being in violation of the rules for six months, without a court ruling.
This directive makes many bloggers and social media activists and users vulnerable to being detained for an undefined period with no due process. Bloggers like the Zone9 group, who have been trying to continue their work after a year-long imprisonment, will also be affected by the restriction. The law puts many more journalists who had been using social media as a means to report, communicate, and reflect, in danger. The fear among them that something they have reported on will be considered as "inciting violence" is high.
Soleyana S. Gebremichael is a founding member of the Zone 9 bloggers and a freedom of expression advocate from Ethiopia. She left Ethiopia in February 2014 after facing terrorism charges for her blogging. Soleyana currently works as a coordinator for the Ethiopia Human Rights Project.