Instant-messaging service WhatsApp is letting users connect via proxy servers so they can stay online if the internet is blocked or disrupted by shutdowns.
The technology giant, owned by Meta, said it hoped blackouts such as those in Iran “never occur” again. They denied human rights and “cut people off from receiving urgent help”. WhatsApp is urging its global community to volunteer proxies to help people “communicate freely” and said it would offer guidance on how to set one up.
“Connecting via proxy maintains the same high level of privacy and security that WhatsApp provides,” it blogged.
“Your personal messages will still be protected by end-to-end encryption – ensuring they stay between you and the person you’re communicating with and are not visible to anyone in between, not the proxy servers, WhatsApp or Meta.”
Juras Juršėnas, from proxy and online data collection company Oxylabs, told BBC News: “For people with government restrictions on internet access, such as was the case with Iran, usage of a proxy server can let people retain connection to WhatsApp and the rest of the free, uncensored internet.
“It will allow people around the world to stay connected even if their internet access is blocked by some malicious actors.”
This is good news for Ugandans who have suffered a string of internet blackouts in the past. In January 2021, Ugandan authorities cut off internet access in the country on the eve of a tense presidential election. Before the internet shutdown, US ambassador to Uganda said the embassy had cancelled plans to observe the election, citing a decision by electoral authorities to deny accreditation to most members of the observation team.
Ambassador Natalie E. Brown expressed “profound disappointment” in a statement saying more than 75% of the accreditations requested had been denied.
“With only 15 accreditations approved, it is not possible for the United States to meaningfully observe the conduct of Uganda’s elections at polling sites across the country,” the statement said. “As we have stated previously, the United States takes no side in Uganda’s upcoming elections.”
Without “the robust participation of observers,” the statement added, “Uganda’s elections will lack the accountability, transparency and confidence that observer missions provide.”
The US embassy statement came after President Museveni spoke harshly against development partners, Facebook and unnamed outside groups he accused of “arrogance.”
Uganda’s government has repeatedly alleged that foreigners are working in support of the opposition. Museveni announced that his government had shut down access to social media and blasted Facebook after the social network removed Ugandan accounts linked to his re-election campaign.
“That social channel you are talking about, if it is going to operate in Uganda, it should be used equitably by everybody who wants to use it,” Museveni said of Facebook. “If you want to take sides against the (ruling party), then that group will not operate in Uganda.”
Facebook said it had removed some Ugandan accounts because they engaged in alleged coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
Source: The Observer
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