The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the South Sudanese authorities to reverse the social media ban and ensure that the public has open and reliable internet access.
CPJ, in a press release from Nairobi, Kenya, said social media was essential for news gathering amid unrest in the country.
“Blocking social media access is a blanket act of censorship and a disproportionate response to unrest that makes it difficult for journalists to do their jobs and robs the public of the diverse sources of news,” the press release quoted the CPJ Africa Program Coordinator, Muthoki Mumo, saying.
“South Sudanese authorities should immediately lift this social media suspension.”
On January 22, South Sudan’s telecommunications regulator, the National Communication Authority (NCA), directed all internet service providers to “block access to all social media accounts” for a “minimum of 30 days” and a “maximum of 90 days”.
The Authority said it issued its orders to stop the social media spread of footage showing the killings of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan, which triggered violent protests in South Sudan.
Authorities in Juba on January 17 imposed a dust-to-dawn curfew in response to the unrest. The curfew has since been lifted.
On the evening of January 22, at least two telecom providers; Zain South Sudan and MTN South Sudan, published notices on Facebook warning users that TikTok and Facebook would no longer be accessible.
In a press briefing on January 23, NCA Director General Napoleon Adok Gai said that there was a possibility that the social media ban would be lifted within 72 hours. CPJ said South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei had declined to comment on the matter, while calls to NCA were not immediately answered.