India tops the global ‘shame’ list with 109 internet shutdowns in 2020: Report

Around the world, shutting down the internet has become an increasingly popular tactic of governments to stifle dissent, raising concerns about restricting freedom of speech and expression.

When talking about internet blockades, one can’t forget India where there have been multiple instances of state-ordered shutdowns, affecting lakhs of citizens and communities.

According to a report by Access Now, India led the world last year in internet shutdowns closely followed by Yemen. With the internet becoming an inextricable part of life, the recent shutdown of the internet in various parts of India has generated a lot of debate.

Illustration by Access Now

The internet blackout in Jammu and Kashmir became the world’s longest internet shutdown in a democratic country, which after 18 months, was restored in the Union Territory.

“This kind of shutdown not only cuts people off from the internet during conflict when residents are in danger and struggling to stay safe, but it also expands the digital divide among people of different classes and income levels,” said the digital rights campaign in its report.

Apart from J&K, even during the coronavirus pandemic, the government restricted access to the internet across the country for different reasons, the recent one being the farmers’ protest. Internet access was restricted to people protesting at Delhi borders for almost a week.

“The Indian government may justify most shutdowns as precautionary, but India has a history of ordering shutdowns targeting political demonstrations, a trend that appears to be accelerating and spreading across all Indian states and union territories,” the report stated.

Internet shutdowns across the world

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, when there were lockdowns across the world, at least 115 internet shutdown incidents were reported in 29 countries, the report stated.

Besides India, countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Yemen, Ethiopia, and others entrenched the use of shutdowns even during the pandemic. Not just that, countries like Tanzania and Cuba that never shut the internet down earlier also joined the list.