Responsibility of Telcos In Pushing Back On Internet Shutdown in Cameroon - Internet Sans Frontières

On February 15, 2017, Access Now, Internet Sans Frontières, and more than 20 civil society organizations, based in Cameroon and elsewhere in the world, addressed a letter to CEOs of MTN Cameroon, NextTel, and Orange Cameroon, the main private operators of Cameroon. On January 17, 2017, these companies were ordered to cut Internet access in the English-speaking regions.

As a result of this Internet disruption, which has lasted for more than a month now, citizens living in the areas affected suffer repeated violations of their human rights, including freedom of expression, as stated by UN’s Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression. Moreover, the cost of such shutdown continues to rise daily: $ 1.39 million to date, based on a methodology by audit firm Deloitte.

In their letter, organizations ask companies to be more transparent about the reasons for the Internet shutdown, and invite them to jointly push back on the order of the government.

Full text of the letter is available here.