Should Government Control the Internet?
This is a very loaded question. I had the recent pleasure to be in Addis Abba, Ethiopia and overall it is always a pleasure to be in that incredible city. I was there attending the Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit (10-11 June 2019) held at the Sheraton Hotel. the event that had the Minister of Innovation and Technology in attendance who participated in conversations about the liberalization of the Telecoms market in Ethiopia (*Irony to follow*)
This year was the 17th instalment of the IAD and the 3rd time the event has been held in Addis. So, what does this have to do with Government control of the internet? Well, during the event, the internet inexplicably goes down. For hour after hour we get no feedback. Then we hear that the internet has been “turned off” for the entire country by the Government. To be honest it was a shock to most of the attendees of the event.
The reason? Because there were school examinations (obviously) and the internet was turned off to prevent cheating in the exams. Although this is an enviable commitment to free and fair exams for schools, it does seem an extreme measure to cripple the economy of the entire country so that the exams can continue. One speaker at the conference specifically mentioned sitting in a 5 Star Hotel at a World Class Conference with No Internet access.
According to the BBC, a one-day interruption in internet services in Ethiopia costs the country $4.5mil (US) in production. At the time of writing this, it will have been 8 days and it does not look like the internet blockage has come to an end as yet. For a country like Ethiopia that is driving hard to attract foreign direct investment, these kind of policy decisions can detract from the countries investment attractiveness. Why would any firm reliant on technology and the internet look at investing and setting up offices in country that allows this behaviour? There simply would be no reason. For the development of the country and the evolution of the Ethiopian economy I hope that the liberalisation of the telecoms industry moves forward fast.
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