From the Announcement:

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to share today new work from the OpenNet Initiative (ONI).

The partnership has released four studies of Internet filtering in Sub-Saharan Africa: updated reports on Ethiopia and Zimbabwe and new reports on Uganda and Nigeria, where ONI tested for the first time in 2008 and 2009.

All four profiles can be accessed at: http://opennet.net/research/regions/ssafrica

Many governments across Sub-Saharan Africa view the Internet as a key tool for development and are developing ICT policies accordingly. While the region has a history of media abuses and restrictions on freedom of the press, ONI testing found evidence of consistent filtering in only one of the countries tested: Ethiopia. Filtering in Ethiopia was found to be substantial in regard to both political and conflict/security sites. Ethiopian authorities have also blocked two major blogging platforms, Blogger and Nazret, suggesting political bloggers are the prime targets of censure.

Sources: Berkman Center, OpenNet Initiative

See Also: Other Reports via OpenNet Home Page
+ Country and Regional Profiles

+ ONI Presents Social Media Filtering Maps

The summer of 2009 was a hectic one for online social media: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a bevy of other sites fell under the censors’ axe in China and Iran as political events — namely the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the Iranian presidential election — shook both countries. Based on testing conducted in 2008-2009, the OpenNet Initiative has compiled data on the most frequently blocked social media sites around the world.

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