Ethiopia
Amend legislation restricting freedom of expression online and offline and adopt a robust data protection.
Located in Eastern Africa, Ethiopia has a population of 120.8 million people. Its 1995 Constitution provides for fundamental rights including the rights to privacy, expression, press, association and assembly. Despite these constitutional guarantees of rights, the Ethiopian digital rights landscape is still a source of concern. A democratic transitional process that began in 2018 has been derailed by political violence, conflict in the Tigray region and ongoing state repression. Various laws like the Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information (FMMAI) Proclamation, which criminalizes defamation, the Media Proclamation, Proclamation on Computer Crime all pose threats to digital rights. In addition to this, Ethiopia deploys internet shutdowns that have been carried out arbitrarily by government actors under the pretext of national security without compliance with international human rights law. Currently, Ethiopia does not have a data protection law.
18%
Households with internet access in 2017
24%
Individuals using internet in 2020
0
Fixed Broadband Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2020
114/180
Press Freedom Ranking in 2022
Upr cycle
Ethiopia was last reviewed in May 2024.
Digital Rights and Free Expression Recommendations
Resources
Partner organisations
Over a hundred local and international human rights organisations are part of the wider Uproar programme. You can find them listed here.
Ethiopia cluster
The country clusters are a local working group in each Uproar target country made up of our partner organisations. The clusters are organised by local lead organisations, who then coordinate local civil society and human rights defenders with digital rights expertise to engage in national-level advocacy and campaigning.