In June, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari blocked Twitter for all of Nigeria in what many believe was a response to the company deleting a tweet of his and suspending the leader’s account. While the government lifted the ban last month, the initial decision came as a shock to Nigerians–especially since many have relied on Twitter to organize social movements including the #EndSARS protests last year.
It also served as a wake-up call to the United States. The episode is emblematic of choices being made by African nations on the core question of open internet access. Countries such as Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Sudan have restricted access to the internet this year in the midst of elections or civilian unrest. And Nigeria’s recent actions smack of Beijing’s long-championed policy of “internet sovereignty”–as does the Buhari administration’s reported meeting with the…