Social media access restored across Sudan

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Network measurements collected by the NetBlocks internet observatory confirm that Sudan’s leading internet providers SDN-MOBITEL/Zain, Sudatel and MTN have restored access to Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram following a 68-day long disruption which began 21 December 2018. Restrictions remain in place with KANARTEL (Canar).

The restoration comes only days after Sudan’s leader Omar al-Bashir declared a yearlong state of emergency and banned unauthorized assembly and public protest.

The present findings are based on 37000 network measurements taken from 258 vantage points across Sudan on Tuesday.

During the outages hundreds of Sudanese internet users participated in an ongoing network measurement study, which has produced a detailed record on the technical, social and economic impact of the disruptions, allowing local communities to develop policies in support the restoration of connectivity.

Since December, internet users in Sudan have resorted to VPN circumvention tools to remain connected to social platforms. Usage of these tools  continues to be recommended to protect users’ privacy and remain prepared for any further disruptions.

 

Methodology

Internet performance and service reachability are determined via NetBlocks web probe privacy-preserving analytics. Each measurement consists of latency round trip time, outage type and autonomous system number aggregated in real-time to assess service availability and latency in a given country. Network providers and locations are enumerated as vantage point pairs. The root cause of a service outage may be additionally corroborated by means of traffic analysis and manual testing as detailed in the report.

NetBlocks is an internet monitor working at the intersection of digital rights, cyber-security and internet governance. Independent and non-partisan, NetBlocks strives to deliver a fair and inclusive digital future for all.

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