Network for Digital Rights in Ethiopia

The Network for Digital Rights in Ethiopia (NDRE) is a civil society-led coalition launched in September 2019 in Addis Ababa, bringing together human rights lawyers, media professionals, and civic organisations to advance digital rights through awareness-building, community organising, and policy advocacy. The network was founded in direct response to Ethiopia's serial internet shutdowns — more than eight between 2016 and 2019 alone — and represents the country's first dedicated multi-stakeholder coalition for digital rights. Ethiopia's digital governance environment makes this high-stakes territory: the government has procured AI-enabled surveillance technologies from European and Israeli firms, operated one of the longest documented internet shutdowns on record during the Tigray conflict, and passed a Hate Speech and Disinformation Proclamation placing liability on social media intermediaries. NDRE was created to give actors already working on these issues in isolation a shared identity and coordinated advocacy forum.

Founding and structure

NDRE was launched on the sidelines of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica 2019), co-organised by Ethiopia's Ministry of Innovation and Technology and CIPESA, which ran in Addis Ababa from September 23–26, 2019. The administrative and legal home is the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD), a registered civil society organisation in Addis Ababa whose own programmatic remit includes digital rights, civic engagement, and governance. The Chairperson is Amha Mekonnen, a prominent Ethiopian human rights lawyer whose concern about the pattern of internet shutdowns sparked the initial convening — asking civic groups and interested individuals what could be done, which produced a brainstorming session and then the network. NDRE operates as a volunteer, open-membership coalition of prominent human rights lawyers, civil society leaders, and concerned citizens. This decentralised structure reflects a deliberate strategic judgment: advancing digital rights against a state-controlled telecom sector requires the legitimacy of multi-stakeholder participation, not a single-organisation profile.

Internet freedom and the PISE working group

NDRE's three core objectives are: to increase public awareness about digital rights; to establish communities working together to promote digital rights; and to influence the policies, regulations, and legislation affecting digital rights. Its flagship working group is Preventing Internet Shutdowns in Ethiopia (PISE), a direct institutional response to Ethiopia's status as one of the most internet-disrupted countries in Africa. The Tigray conflict, beginning in November 2020, produced a near-total communications blackout that persisted for over two years — one of the longest internet shutdowns on record anywhere, documented by Access Now's #KeepItOn coalition as part of a pattern of at least 24 shutdowns since 2016. In August 2023, a State of Emergency in Amhara produced another round of internet blocking alongside physical restrictions on journalists. NDRE's approach goes beyond monitoring: it proactively and strategically engages telecom providers, government regulators, courts, law enforcement, and the private sector to develop accountability frameworks and legal constraints on shutdown authority.

AI surveillance and the hate speech law

Ethiopia's digital governance context extends beyond shutdowns to active AI-enabled suppression. Research from the African Digital Rights Network documents the Ethiopian government's procurement of AI surveillance technologies — including Deep Packet Inspection tools enabling real-time monitoring of internet traffic, call records, SMS, and social media — from European and Israeli firms. NDRE's work sits at the intersection of these issues: the network advocates for uninterrupted internet access, privacy rights, and the protection of the digital space as a medium of communication. The passage of Ethiopia's Proclamation to Prevent the Spread of Hate Speech and False Information in March 2020, which requires social media providers to act within 24 hours to remove flagged content and holds intermediaries directly liable, was a significant concern for civil society actors including ARTICLE 19 and Access Now. NDRE contributed to civil society engagement with that law as part of its broader mandate to shape the legislative and regulatory environment governing digital expression. As Mekonnen framed it at the 2019 launch, the network's purpose is to "advocate for uninterrupted internet access to Ethiopians, help protect their privacy rights, create awareness and build capacity in partnership with civic groups, government, private sector and citizens at large."

Regional and international connections

NDRE's 2019 launch on the sidelines of FIFAfrica placed it immediately within the pan-African internet freedom ecosystem convened by CIPESA. Its work on internet shutdowns situates it within the broader coalition of African civil society actors — including the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) — pressing governments on shutdown practices and internet governance. Its policy advocacy on hate speech and platform accountability aligns with ARTICLE 19's documented work in Ethiopia, which has tracked the legislative environment for expression rights across the region. NDRE represents the first civil society network in Ethiopia explicitly dedicated to digital rights coalition-building across civil society, legal, and policy domains.