The government of Ethiopia has restricted access to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Viber all over the country in order to enable its students make adequate preparation for the country’s university entrance examination.
According to the government, the barn is simple to prevent students all over the country from being distracted, to ensure that students study during exam period and also to ensure that there is no spread of rumours or leak of exam papers.
Spokesman to the Ethiopian ministry of Education, Getachew Reda said:
“It’s blocked. It’s a temporary measure until Wednesday. Social media have proved to be a distraction for students.”
The social media site that have been blocked are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber
As a matter of fact, this is actually the very first time that entrance to Social media sites have been blocked in the country. Although there were times where social media sites went down for couple of hours but the government denied being involved.
The United Nations showing disappointment on the decision made by the Ethiopian Government, saying that internet service interruptions are strictly Human Right Violation. This was completely explained in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.