Internet shutdowns during the protests in Colombia — #SOSColombia

During the recent protests against the government in Colombia, there have been Internet shutdowns as reported by Netblocks, a non-governmental organization that monitors the Internet worldwide, alerting that connectivity in Cali, a city in the Southwest of the country, was interrupted.

Network metrics corroborate user reports of difficulty getting online amid widespread protests (16:30 Tuesday) and the reported use of live fire by security forces during the Tuesday night until the morning of Wednesday 5 May 2021.

Although the disruption has a partial impact at the moment, the organization believes that it is likely to significantly limit the free flow of information from the site of the protests and further affect the serious situation of human rights violations that the country has been experiencing since the beginning of the National Strike. This week the United Nations human rights office expressed deep alarm at the situation, alleging heavy-handed policing in response to anti-government protests over the weekend.

Cali has been the epicenter of high tensions and escalating violence during the national strike demonstrations: several protesters have been killed, there are problems of shortages and even the UN reported that a human rights mission was attacked and shot by the police.

Despite this, some voices in Colombia’s media have called for the deployment of internet censorship to quell the unrest, although many more have spoken to the need for internet freedom and access to communication as a human right amid the crisis. Let’s hope no more blackout during protest still happen and the Colombian people find a peaceful resolution to their National Strike.