Data from the NetBlocks internet observatory confirm that Venezuela’s state-run internet provider ABA CANTV has restricted access to Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook services on the morning of Sunday 5 January 2020. The targeted filtering commenced as security forces were seen blocking lawmakers and media access to National Assembly premises in advance of today’s leadership vote, and was applied for 2.5 hours.
Update: Access to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook services and YouTube restored in #Venezuela following restriction by state-run provider CANTV; during the disruption legislators were barred from entering congress; incident duration 2.5 hours 📈#5Ene pic.twitter.com/mycfU3a1W3
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) January 5, 2020
Members of the local and international press remained barred amid tense scenes outside Venezuela’s legislative palace several hours after the incident began.
#ALERTA | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Messenger y YouTube restringidos en Venezuela hoy, día de la elección del presidente de la #AsambleaVE
Data en tiempo real muestra cortes o intermitencia en el servicio de suscriptores del proveedor CANTV.
Vía: @netblocks
#ANFirmeConVzla https://t.co/6fosegassX— Asamblea Nacional (@AsambleaVE) January 5, 2020
While Juan Guaido was blocked entry into the National Assembly, access to internet dropped for a period of 2.5hrs, according to @netblocks. pic.twitter.com/KMdY9x2rBS
— Seana Davis (@Seana_Davis) January 6, 2020
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.
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