A recent study has found that 2022 saw a new high of 187 instances of internet shutdowns, marking a record number of countries implementing this measure in response to political turmoil.
Among them, India has been identified as the top culprit, with at least 84 expected incidents of internet outages during the year.
187 Internet Shutdowns In 2022 – New Record Created
The internet rights organization Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition have conducted research indicating that there will be 187 internet shutdowns in 2022,
making it the year with the highest number of government-imposed internet outages in 35 countries since the groups started tracking such incidents in 2016.
The majority of these shutdowns were initiated due to protests, conflicts, and allegations of human rights violations, with a smaller number occurring during school exams and elections.
The report highlights that in India, most of the internet outages occurred in the disputed regions of Jammu and Kashmir, which have long been marked by political instability.
However, the practice has also spread to other parts of the country.
Iran, which responded to anti-regime protests, shut down the internet 18 times, and Myanmar’s junta imposed seven blackouts, making them other countries with repeated internet shutdowns.
Frequency of Shutdowns Increasing?
As per the report, the Russian military employed missile strikes and cyber-attacks to disconnect the internet in Ukraine on 22 occasions.
It also attempted to force occupied regions onto highly censored and monitored Russian networks.
In another instance, Ethiopia’s government imposed an internet blackout on the rebellious Tigray region, which persisted for over two years amid allegations of atrocities such as killings, rape, and ethnic cleansing.
While Tigray’s phone and mobile internet services were restored following a ceasefire agreement in November, some areas still remain without access.
Access Now and #KeepItOn representative, Felicia Anthonio, observed that internet shutdowns have become a weapon of control and impunity, with power-hungry authoritarian regimes and
even democracies resorting to these tactics to advance their agendas of oppression, silence dissenting voices, and manipulate narratives.
The report reveals that internet outages peaked in 2019 with 213 instances in 33 countries, declining to 159 in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the authors of the report caution that shutdowns are once again becoming more frequent.
