India Accounts for Highest Number of Internet Outages in Recent Years: Report

Access Now, a New York-based watchdog group, released the research yesterday, stating that the number of internet outages has not only skyrocketed but also lasted longer and frequently targeted people during critical times. According to the report, governments in 35 countries shut down the internet a record 185 times in 2022 alone.

Scenarios in Different Countries Around the Globe:

Access Now launched its Keep It On campaign in 2016, and its findings indicate that India was responsible for roughly half of the outages observed in 2015. The bulk of internet shutdowns happened amid humanitarian crises, huge protests, ongoing conflicts, elections, and war, with India apparently conducting 84 internet shutdowns last year, making it the country with the most internet censorship for the fifth consecutive year.

Residents in Tigray, Ethiopia have endured a complete communication outage for more than two years, making it the longest active shutdown, while some districts in Myanmar have had a blackout for more than 500 days. Access Now noted in its study, “Authorities ordered shutdowns for many of the same reasons they have for years, with some utilizing the same stale justifications.” Long-term blackouts, mobile shutdowns, and platform blocking were frequently utilized to suppress specific populations by those with power.

Russia reportedly cut internet access 22 times during its invasion of Ukraine, using the outages to destroy telecommunications infrastructure and launch cyberattacks, whereas Iran used the outages to combat protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old killed by the country’s “morality police.”

Why do Governments tend to make internet outages?

The analysis demonstrates that governments utilize internet outages not only to quiet protestors or block claimed misinformation, but also as a cover for countries whose government, military, and police committed war crimes and horrific human rights violations, such as murder, torture, and rape.

Access Now has witnessed progress as it collaborates with the United Nations to stop global internet outages, despite the fact that the rate of internet outages is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The report states that the group “successfully mobilized against election-related shutdowns globally,” including mobilization against outages during Kenya’s general election, progress towards ending the two-year blackout in Ethiopia, and collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights (OHCHR) organization.

The UN issued a similar assessment last year, detailing the seriousness of human rights breaches and mirroring similar results to Access Now. “When a government blocks access to the internet, both individuals and economies suffer.” Last year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stated in a news release that the costs to jobs, education, health, and political participation almost always outweigh any hoped-for benefits.

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