E21: Ethiopia Context The Ethiopian government has a history of using network disruptions as a method of control during times of conflict. Access Now’s Keep It On coalition documented 26 shutdowns between 2016 and 2023.33 The government typically justifies these shutdowns under the banner of national security and preventing the spread of disinformation and hate speech.34 They rely on national security legislation, such as the Information Network Security Agency’s re-establishment proclamation No. 808/2013 and No. 320/2014, the Cybercrime Bill of 2020, and imposing states of emergencies as legal basis for these shutdowns.35 One of the starkest examples of Ethiopia’s use of internet shutdowns was the November 2020 to January 2023 Tigray internet blackout. Beginning in 2020, Ethiopian troops and the Eritrean military fought a civil war in the Tigray region against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The war led to accusations of genocide. A ceasefire was signed in Tigray in November 2, 2022, just two weeks before international delegates attending the United Nation’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) arrived in Addis Ababa. Reports indicate some access to the internet in Tigray was restored by January 2023.36 The Tigray internet shutdown was one of the longest internet shutdowns in history as the federal government cut off millions people from the internet and phone communications for over two years.