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Online safety & content laws in Eritrea (2026)

Online safety rules in Eritrea: heavy restriction.

Eritrea operates one of the most restrictive internet environments in the world, with all telecommunications controlled exclusively by the state-owned EriTel monopoly. Mobile internet is effectively blocked for ordinary citizens, social media platforms and diaspora news sites are blocked, and the Ministry of Information exercises total authority over online content through executive decree and national-security provisions rather than a formal legislative framework. No online safety, platform-liability, or content-moderation law comparable to the EU DSA or UK OSA exists; restriction is achieved primarily through infrastructure ownership and state monopoly control.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Eritrea with other countries

Legal framework

State telecommunications monopoly via Eritrean Telecommunication Services Corporation (EriTel) under Proclamation No. 134/2003; content oversight by Ministry of Information under Press Proclamation and executive decree; no independent regulator exists

Key points: internet & online safety in Eritrea

  1. State telecom monopoly

    Proclamation No. 134/2003 established EriTel as the sole provider of fixed-line, mobile, and internet services; private ISPs and competing operators are prohibited. There is no independent telecommunications regulator, oversight is integrated into government ministries.

    loc.gov itu.int

  2. Mobile internet blocked

    Mobile data is effectively unavailable to ordinary citizens; the network operates on 2G GSM with 3G/4G disabled for general use. Eritrea is the only coastal African nation with no submarine fiber-optic cable landing, making international connectivity uniquely constrained.

    ts2.tech en.wikipedia.org

  3. Social media and website blocking

    Eritrea blocks access to social media platforms and diaspora-run news websites critical of the government. Internet café users must provide identity documentation before connecting, and digital communications are monitored without legal warrant.

    freedomhouse.org monitor.civicus.org

  4. No independent media since 2001

    All independent media were banned in September 2001. The Ministry of Information acts simultaneously as regulator, censor, and publisher; no foreign or national private media are authorised to operate, and citizens face arrest for content posted online.

    rsf.org freedomhouse.org

  5. Worst global press freedom ranking

    Eritrea ranked 180th out of 180 countries in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index (score: 10.24), retaining its position as the most censored country globally, and scored 3/100 in Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2025 report.

    rsf.org freedomhouse.org

  6. No online safety or platform-liability law

    There is no DSA-style, OSA-style, or any comprehensive online safety or platform-liability legislation, nor any proposed equivalent. Control is exercised through infrastructure ownership and executive decree; the 1998 Communications Proclamation (Legal Notice No. 43/1998) and Proclamation 134/2003 remain the primary legal instruments governing the sector.

    itu.int dig.watch

Sources

  1. loc.gov/item/eritrean-proc-134-2003/
  2. itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Legislation/Eritrea/law43.html
  3. freedomhouse.org/country/eritrea/freedom-world/2025
  4. rsf.org/en/country/eritrea
  5. monitor.civicus.org/explore/eritrea-retains-lowest-ranking-globally-on-press-freedom-inde
  6. dig.watch/countries/eritrea
  7. ts2.tech/en/eritreas-digital-desert-inside-the-worlds-most-isolated-internet-a
  8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Eritrea

Next for Eritrea: CybersecuritySectoral rules

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026