ABSTRACT Freedom of expression is a foundational stone for democracy and embraces a number of other rights, including – freedom to seek, receive, and impart information using any medium. Around 16 million Ethiopians, comprising 15.4% of the total population, use the Internet. The Ethiopian Internet shutdown saga has been marked by competing narratives. On one hand, the government has been using two governing narratives, i.e. national security narrative and ‘economic growth’ narrative to justify shutdowns of the Internet. But, the individuals’ self-expressions on social media find itself as competing narrative. Since 2016, the Internet has been closed more than six times under the cloak of national security, quelling rising protests, controlling strikes, and exam cheating. As such, freedom of expression of millions has been muzzled. The article argues blanket Internet shutdowns do not meet the caveats of human rights law.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚的互联网关闭限制了言论自由：相互竞争的叙述

摘要 言论自由是民主的基石，并包含许多其他权利，包括 – 使用任何媒介寻求、接收和传播信息的自由。大约 1600 万埃塞俄比亚人使用互联网，占总人口的 15.4%。埃塞俄比亚互联网关闭事件的特点是相互竞争的叙述。一方面，政府一直在使用两种治理叙事，即国家安全叙事和“经济增长”叙事来证明关闭互联网的合理性。但是，个人在社交媒体上的自我表达发现自己是相互竞争的叙述。2016年以来，互联网打着国家安全、平息抗议、控制罢工、考试作弊的幌子，先后六次以上被封。因此，数百万人的言论自由受到压制。