Abel Wabella is no stranger to the dangers of pursuing digital activism in Ethiopia. In 2014, he was charged under a controversial anti-terrorism law, which has been described by Amnesty International as providing the state with ‘unnecessarily far-reaching powers’. Wabella spent over a year in jail because of his role as co-founder of Zone9, a blogging collective that highlighted human rights abuses, corruption and political repression in the country. CNN reports that it wasn't until 2018, during a period of mass reform and resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, that the final charges were dropped against the group's members. Prime Minister Abiy also released political prisoners, unblocked hundreds of websites, and appointed women to half of his Cabinet posts. Over the past month, however, there have been several nationwide internet blackouts, leaving friends and families disconnected, businesses unable to operate, and journalists prevented from reporting on events. The most recent Internet blackout began on 22 June after reports of an attempted coup in the Amhara region. After 100 hours, the network was gradually restored, although it wasn't until 2 July that mobile data finally returned. The report notes that governments around the world are increasingly reaching for the Internet ‘kill switch’. In the past few months alone, there have been internet shutdowns in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. While in Africa, Internet shutdowns are also being employed more frequently by governments. So far this year, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mauritania and the DRC have all enforced a shutdown for various reasons.