Ethiopia hosts UN internet meeting after cutting off Tigray

By JAMEY KEATEN and CARA ANNA
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — A U.N. body devoted to promoting broader and better access to the internet is about to hold its annual gathering in Ethiopia. The Internet Governance Forum had scheduled this year’s meeting in Ethiopia well before the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed spearheaded a military campaign in the Tigray region starting in November 2020. His government cut off internet access in the region during the two-year war. Critics call Ethiopia one of the world’s most egregious examples of preventing people from getting online. Advocacy groups want internet shutdowns like Ethiopia’s to be high on the agenda and for governments to stop shutting down the internet as a weapon of war.