Internet Blackout Takes Out Power, Payment Systems in Senegal

For years, governments around the world have assailed social media for their role in the spread of disinformation, inciting violence and provoking uprisings.

In June, French President Emmanuel Macron blamed Snapchat and TikTok for spreading footage of police fatally shooting a teenager and inflaming protests. US lawmakers have faulted platforms including Twitter and Parler for contributing to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. And earlier this week — in one of the more extreme responses by a government yet — Senegal imposed a temporary ban on TikTok on all wireless phone networks. And it didn’t stop there. It blocked access to the entire Internet on mobile devices. For five days, possibly longer.

Senegal’s chief communications minister, Moussa Bocar Thiam, said at the time that the shutdown was intended to prevent the spread of “hateful and subversive messages” by individuals who “threaten to destabilize the country.’’ At least 40 people have been killed in protests across the country since a government opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, was arrested and convicted of morally corrupting a youth.