No Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp.

That’s what’s becoming increasingly common in some African countries, where governments have periodically shut down the internet or blocked social media platforms.

It’s a year since Chad blocked access to the most popular social media sites.

Sudan had limited access during anti-government protests, as did the authorities in Zimbabwe.

Digital rights activists say it’s censorship, but governments argue it helps maintain security.

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So how do governments shut down or block the internet in practice?

Blocking access
A government can limit access to the internet by ordering internet service providers (ISPs) to limit access to their subscribers.

In the first instance, this is likely to be a block on commonly used social media sites.

As a more extreme measure, the authorities can order service providers to block all internet access.

In 2018, there were 21 instances of partial or total internet shutdowns, compared with 13 in 2017 and 4 in 2016, according to Access Now, an independent monitoring group.

Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Sierra Leone restricted access to the internet last year.

It’s also a global trend. In 2018, there were 188 shutdowns, compared to 108 in 2017 and 75 in 2016.