Chad Lifts Ban on Social-Media Usage After More Than a Year

(Bloomberg) -- Chad lifted a more than a year-long ban on social media including Facebook and Twitter that the government said had been necessary for security reasons.

The announcement was made by President Idriss Deby at a conference about digital technology in the capital, N’Djamena. While he said he’d instructed internet service providers to suspend the restrictions immediately, he appealed “to everyone’s sense of responsibility so that these means of communication are an instrument of development and not a source of division.” Access to social media had been blocked since March last year.

Chad’s parliament adopted a new electoral code in June ahead of legislative elections that have been postponed three times already as the cash-strapped government tries to mobilize funds for the vote. The oil-producing nation was rocked by a series of strikes and protests after the government obtained a $312 million bailout from the International Monetary Fund two years ago and began implementing austerity measures.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel N'doh Nadjitan in N'Djamena at nnadjitan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Michael Gunn

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