In late October 2025, Tanzania’s Government imposed a nationwide internet blackout in the run‑up to its general election. The shutdown coincided with escalating reports of opposition suppression, abductions and politically‑motivated violence across the country, culminating in approximately 800 deaths, according to Tanzanian opposition parties.1 At the time of writing, a collection of African rights groups have claimed the death toll could be close to 3,000 - although this number remains unsubstantiated by official sources.2
Mass protests erupted across the country following a general election in which the long‑standing ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party (CCM) and its leader Samia Suluhu Hassan, were re‑elected with over 97 per cent of the vote, in a clear instance of election tampering.3,4
Protesters and international observers have cited clear electoral irregularities, media suppression, and the exclusion of opposition candidates as triggers for the unrest, while human‑rights groups warned of a deepening crackdown on dissent and curbs on internet access.
Digital censorship: The Streisand Effect
In an attempt to stifle the growing protests, Tanzanian authorities imposed widespread internet shutdowns, reportedly targeting social media platforms and limiting mobile data across key urban areas.
Local journalists, activists and observers reported they could not upload footage of state‑security operations, share protest alerts or coordinate safely. The shutdown came amid a broader crackdown on online spaces, where platforms were suspended for allegedly publishing “misleading” or “defamatory” content.5,6
The result, as is often the case when state actors try to curtail internet access, only drew more attention to the Government’s actions, prompting additional journalists and watchdogs to pay attention to a country whose Google Trends rating shows that between August - November 2025, during the contested election, international interest in the country was the highest it had been in the last five years. Attention even eclipsed the attention the country got for the death of their previous President circa 2021 and shortly after electing its first female President, despite the attempts at censorship.7
This phenomenon, dubbed the “Streisand Effect”, has played out repeatedly in recent years, perhaps most notably in Iran during the Mahsa Amini protests which saw near-total internet shutdowns in Iran and only intensified global media focus and amplified opposition.8,9 We also saw similar trends in Myanmar, which saw a military coup followed by widespread digital blackouts, yet images of violent suppression still reached the world thanks to VPN users, satellite uplinks, and diaspora networks.10,11
The blackout shows how low-cost, high-impact tactics like internet throttling and platform restrictions can be used to suppress opposition, limit media coverage and restrict protest. This should be a warning to the international community that digital repression is not limited to a small group of surveillance-capable states. It is (somewhat ironically) becoming democratised, which carries implications for civil society, foreign policy, and global risk architecture far beyond the borders of Tanzania.