Has Tanzania blocked ‘X’ formerly known as Twitter?
Tanzania blocking online and social media outlets or the internet is not a new thing, but even this knowledge did not prepare millions of subscribers of the ‘X’ platform who were suddenly faced with frozen pages.
Twitter pages were not loading, refreshing or even scrolling. X was stuck and so were its users from the late afternoon of Friday, August 30, 2024.
People were compelled to activate or re-install VPNs in order to access the blocked ‘X’ services in the country which suffered similar predicaments during the election season of 2020.
Social media activists with a huge followers base, such as Maria Sarungi Tsehai, Boniface Jacob, Twaha Mwaipaya and Advocate Fatma Karume or raised voices against what was suspected to be Tanzania Government’s move to bridle critics.
‘X’ formerly known as Twitter is the most popular media platform in Tanzania, through which people exchange ideas, follow up current affairs and some even use the online stage as a commercial entity to conduct business and trade.
The mainstream media in Tanzania is as good as dead because most people no longer trust newspapers, radio or television stations.
Social media platforms have been the dependable source of reliable and trusted news with offered interactivity and live feedback as bonus.
It therefore came as a shock when ‘X’ was frozen on Friday.
The development comes in the midst of public outcry over the increasing cases of people disappearing and abductions in the country, something which some legislators even tried to table in the National Assembly recently.
The Tanganyika Law Society and Human Right bodies have all been calling upon state organs to address the scary happenings in the East African Country.