India Recorded Highest Internet Shutdowns in the World in 2022

India recorded the highest number of internet shutdowns in 2022, as per a report based by internet advocacy watchdog, Access Now. The company released this data on Tuesday. Incidentally, this is the fifth time in a row that India has topped the list.

The report claimed that there were 187 global internet shutdowns in total last year across 35 countries. India recorded 84 of these, followed by Ukraine, Iran, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Jordan, Libya, Sudan and Turkmenistan in the list.

“Governments wield internet shutdowns as weapons of control and shields of impunity,” said Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now. “In 2022, from targeted blockings in the Jammu & Kashmir region, to knee-jerk shutdowns seeking to crush public protest, authorities in India worked hard to exert control further over India’s online sphere. But, slowly, they’re learning that the world is watching, and people are fighting back.”

What’s interesting is that in its five year streak of topping this list, India’s numbers were fewer than 100 last year. Also, the number of countries where internet shutdowns occurred last year were 35, the maximum since 2016.

The report also added that the shutdowns in Ukraine and Yemen were imposed by external forces during armed comflicts. "During Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military cut internet access at least 22 times, engaging in cyberattacks and deliberately destroying telecommunications infrastructure," the watchdog said in its report.

Shutdown triggers in 2022 as per the report were protests, active conflicts, exams and elections. While there were 62 shutdowns in 16 countries for protests, there were 33 shutdowns during active conflicts, followed by 8 shutdowns in 6 countries to "prevent cheating" during exams, and 5 shutdowns in 5 countries owing to elections.

Iran, which was the third on the list, had 15 out of its 18 shutdowns "during the nationwide protests for women’s rights and regime change in Iran."

Source: Access Now