India stood second for the most Internet shutdowns across the globe in 2024, more than any other democratic nation, according to a report published by AccessNow, a New York-based internet rights organisation.
The report, named “Emboldened Offenders, Endangered Communities; Internet Shutdowns in 2024” ranked Myanmar at the top for most internet shutdowns across the globe with 85 instances in 2024.
Internet shutdown 84 times in India in 2024
Meanwhile, India came at a close second with the internet being shut down 84 times in the past year. The report says that it is the first time India has not topped the list since 2018 but said the numbers are still ‘unacceptably high’ as the world’s largest democracy.
India, also stood second for internet shutdowns coinciding with grave human rights abuses. India also made its way to feature in the list of countries that imposed election-related shutdowns, along with Uganda, Azerbaijan, Comoros, Mauritania, Mozambique, Pakistan and Venezuela.
India’s neighbour Pakistan stood third in the ranking but with a huge gap in the number of internet shutdowns, with 21 shutdowns across 2024.
Russia, which has been engaged in a war against Ukraine since 2022, has imposed 19 internet shutdowns, including seven in Ukraine.
“Access to the internet is woven into the fabric of people’s lives in countless ways, and shutdowns denying people that access have far-reaching impacts, including immediate harm to individuals’ safety, long-term impacts on communities’ economic stability, and so much more”, the report highlights.
Most shutdowns in Manipur
The report says that People in 16 states and territories experienced a shutdown in India, with Manipur state government officials imposing 21 shutdowns, owing to the ongoing conflict in the state.
Haryana (12), and Jammu & Kashmir (12) were the other two states that had the most shutdowns in the country, after Manipur.
41 shutdowns in India out of the total 84 were related to protests, and 23 were related to communal violence.
Israel’s imposition on Gaza
Israel imposed six shutdowns in Gaza in 2024, the report says. This includes one continuous shutdown from October 9, 2023, which brought 13 local ISPs offline and five targeted shutdowns in governorates and towns that were the focus of Israeli military bombardments.
The report observed that the escalation of internet shutdowns and the increasing crackdown on civic space globally are increasingly taking place in countries where human rights are under attack.
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