A number of countries cut off public access to internet service, partially or completely, to deal with political upheaval in 2022. It reportedly caused “incalculable and persistent damage to people’s lives,” with 187 shutdowns in 2022.
The research by internet rights group Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition reported 187 shutdowns in 2022 in 35 countries – the highest number in a single year since the groups began documenting internet blackouts in 2016. A majority of the shutdowns were triggered by protests, civil uproars, and human rights violations.
India had at least 84 internet shutdowns in 2022, the most by any country. In India, most internet shutdowns took place in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the report.
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Other countries with a significant number of internet shutdowns included Iran (18), Myanmar (7), and Ukraine (22).
In Ukraine, the use of missile strikes by the Russian military and cyber attacks were cited as the reasons behind internet shutdowns.
Ethiopia’s Tigray region had the longest internet shutdown
The internet shutdown in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has been the longest shutdown ever, lasting over two years. This coincided with allegations of killings, rape, and ethnic cleansing. The mobile internet in Tigray was restored after a ceasefire was signed in November last year.
“Governments wield internet shutdowns as weapons of control and shields of impunity,” Felicia Anthonio from Access Now said in an official statement. “In 2022, under authoritarian regimes and in democracies, powermongers accelerated their use of these callous tactics, disrupting the internet to fuel their agendas of oppression – manipulating narratives, silencing voices, and ensuring cover for their own acts of violence and abuse.”
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