SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Financial Times - The fight to control Africa's digital revolution

19/6/19: Financial Times  – The fight to control Africa’s digital revolution, by David Pilling

 FT Africa editor David Pilling argues that the Sudan internet blackout reflects a wider pattern of African restrictions on online activism, arguing that governments in Africa have a massive opportunity to use the digital revolution to improve the lives of their citizens, but “too many are using it against them”

 Pilling notes the importance of the internet as a reliable source of information amid heavily controlled print media, but also highlights that the internet is also a source of “rumour and deception,” leading Ugandan and Tanzanian authorities to enact social media taxes.

 Pilling notes Africa’s technological reliance on China, with African governments, such as Zimbabwe, reportedly enlisting the services of Chinese surveillance companies to spy on their citizens. However, there are also allegations that China has “bugged” the African Union’s headquarters.