Kenya has recorded a surge in Internet censorship over the past two years, overtaking its neighbours Uganda and Tanzania in terms of hours of restriction and losses attributed to such shutdowns.
Last year, the economic output lost to Internet shutdowns in Kenya nearly tripled to Sh9.7 billion ($75 million) due to more hours of outages which impacted more people and slowed down economic activity.
Data aggregated by Internet privacy and security research organisation Top10VPN reveals that the losses due to Internet shutdowns in Kenya are now the third highest in Africa, and 12th globally, pointing to increased censorship to control information flow and deal with dissent.
The cost of shutdowns is calculated by internet rights organisation NetBlocks based on indicators by the World Bank and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which estimate in monetary terms the economic benefits of uninterrupted Internet and social media use.
The costliest episode of Internet interruption was in November last year when the sector regulator restricted the use of the messaging app Telegram to control its use to aid malpractice in the secondary school national examinations.
The ban lasted 21 days, costing the country an estimated Sh9.2 billion ($71 million) in lost output, and affecting about 22.7 million users. It followed the total outage reported on June 25 in the heat of the protests, which lasted for seven hours costing the country Sh500 million ($4 million).
According to the data, 2024 marked the year with the costliest shutdowns yet in Kenya’s history, highlighting an increasing use of Internet restriction to deal with dissent or control information flow.
Across the region, Internet shutdowns have fizzled out, with Tanzania being the only other country restricting web access over the last two years.
Dar restricted access to the audio-conferencing platform Clubhouse and X last year, costing it Sh121 million ($998,898).
Uganda, which was once the top restrictor of Internet use in the region, has not censured its use since 2021, while the Democratic Republic of Congo hasn’t restricted internet since 2019.
Burundi, South Sudan, and Somalia last had Internet restrictions in 2020, while Rwanda hasn’t had any shutdowns for seven years.