Journalist group calls on country to restore sites

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Venezuela to stop restricting access to the internet, including social media and news outlets.

The country is in the midst of social unrest and widespread protests targeting current President Nicolás Maduro.

According to NetBlocks, which monitors digital censorship, state-run ISP ABA CANTV has restricted access to Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube and other sites and services (see tweet, below) following the use of Twitter in the movement to reinstate a democratic government, something the U.S. supports.

"We are alarmed by the increasingly brazen censorship in Venezuela, including the repeated and selective restriction of internet access, a popular tool of authoritarian regimes," said CPJ South and Central America program coordinator Natalie Southwick in a statement. "Venezuelan authorities should ensure that all internet platforms and news outlets--digital, radio, and television--are available to citizens seeking to access and share information."

CPJ has been documenting periodic internet blackouts in the country that make it hard for journalists to cover the conflict.