Aemro Worku Ayalew, a doctoral student in the Wilder School’s public policy and administration program, examines the growing use of internet shutdowns as a governance tool during armed conflict and the consequences for accountability and civilian protection.
In “Ethiopia’s digital blackouts are an attempt to turn off accountability,” a recent commentary published by the London School of Economics and Political Science blog Africa at LSE, Ayalew documents how Ethiopia’s government has repeatedly cut internet access during periods of unrest, including extended blackouts during conflicts in Tigray, Amhara and Oromia. The shutdowns have limited journalists’ ability to report, disrupted humanitarian coordination and obscured evidence of human rights abuses at critical moments.
Ayalew argues that digital blackouts create an information vacuum that allows violence to occur without scrutiny while isolating communities from aid, medical coordination and family communication. Situating Ethiopia within a broader global trend of rising internet shutdowns, he calls for stronger legal protections, international oversight and the inclusion of digital rights in peace and humanitarian frameworks.
His analysis highlights a central policy challenge of the digital age: when access to information disappears, accountability often disappears with it.
