Equatorial Guinea reportedly cut off Annobón island’s internet after residents petitioned against a contractor’s blasting, with signatories jailed for months. The blackout halted banking and emergency hospital services and pushed residents to flee, turning a speech clampdown into a full civic shutdown. This illustrates how governments now use connectivity as a lever of collective punishment and control.
— Treating internet access as critical infrastructure—and a political weapon—reframes free‑speech debates around essential services, human rights, and governance.
BeauHD
2025.09.29
70% relevant
The blackout is timed to hit work hours and is already disrupting flights and will halt banking and business operations—concrete examples of how connectivity loss cascades into broader civic and economic paralysis.
EditorDavid
2025.09.14
100% relevant
AP reports a year‑long internet cutoff on Annobón island after a July petition about dynamite blasts, plus bank closures and halted emergency care.
← Back to All Ideas