Nigeria’s Twitter ban created quite the storm because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up indicating that social media freedoms were in jeopardy. The Nigerian government recently lifted its ban on the social media platform, but that doesn’t mean that every single nation in the world currently has unrestricted access to Twitter and the like. In fact, many observers are noting that there are still four nations around the world that have blocked access to Twitter for their people.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that China is perhaps the biggest offender in this regard. The Asian nation doesn’t allow any foreign social media platforms to operate in the country, and it’s not the only Asian country that does so. Iran and its northern neighbor Turkmenistan have banned Twitter as well, as has North Korea which should come as a surprise to exactly no one.
Most countries in the Subcontinent, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, have blocked Twitter access previously. There are also seventeen African nations that once blocked Twitter, but with Nigeria lifting the ban suffice it to say that all of Africa now has unrestricted Twitter access for the first time in a while. Such social media blocks are usually done for politically motivated reasons, and most of the countries that have blocked Twitter at one point or another mostly did so for the purposes of stifling dissenting opinions and the like.
However, Nigeria’s lifting of the ban is good news since it indicates that autocratic regimes are not going to keep their citizens disconnected for a really long time. While it seems unlikely that the four countries that currently block Twitter will lift their bands anytime soon, this is definitely a sign that things might be going in the right direction.
H/T: Statista / SS.
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With all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that China is perhaps the biggest offender in this regard. The Asian nation doesn’t allow any foreign social media platforms to operate in the country, and it’s not the only Asian country that does so. Iran and its northern neighbor Turkmenistan have banned Twitter as well, as has North Korea which should come as a surprise to exactly no one.
Most countries in the Subcontinent, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, have blocked Twitter access previously. There are also seventeen African nations that once blocked Twitter, but with Nigeria lifting the ban suffice it to say that all of Africa now has unrestricted Twitter access for the first time in a while. Such social media blocks are usually done for politically motivated reasons, and most of the countries that have blocked Twitter at one point or another mostly did so for the purposes of stifling dissenting opinions and the like.
However, Nigeria’s lifting of the ban is good news since it indicates that autocratic regimes are not going to keep their citizens disconnected for a really long time. While it seems unlikely that the four countries that currently block Twitter will lift their bands anytime soon, this is definitely a sign that things might be going in the right direction.
Read next: Here’s How Brands Can Optimize Their Tweets According to Twitter