India logged at least 84 internet shutdowns in 2022, highest in the world, according to a report published on Tuesday by Access Now in coalition with KeepItOn.
The report titled 'Weapons of Control, Shields of Impunity: Internet Shutdowns in 2022', noted that there has been a gradual uptick in the number of countries imposing internet gags from 2016 to 2022.
For example, in 2016, 25 countries imposed internet gags. The following year, the number had come down to 19. Twenty-six countries imposed internet shutdowns in 2018, followed by 33 and 29 shutdowns in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In 2021, the number of countries to impose an internet bans was 34, while in 2022, it is 35.
"Governments around the world are imposing internet shutdowns at alarming rates, reaching milestones that seemed unlikely in 2016 when the #KeepItOn campaign was launched," the report noted.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
Case study-India
In 2022, India was on top of the list of countries that shut down internet services for the fifth consecutive year.
Access Now has been documenting internet shutdowns since 2016 and India has accounted for 58% of all internet bans recorded by Access Now's database since then. "The responsibility of Indian states for the majority of shutdowns globally is impossible to ignore and a deep problem on its own," it said.
The report noted that people in the Indian union territory Jammu and Kashmir lived through much of 2022 with "near continuous disruptions and poor quality of internet". Internet in J&K was disrupted 49 times, including 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long curfew-style shutdowns in January and February 2022.
However, the report also noted that "rare spells" of good internet availability proved to be beneficial for women and small-business owners. While J&K accounted for 80% of India's internet shutdowns in 2021, the numbers came down to 58% in 2022.
In 2022 other Indian states that saw a significant number of internet shutdowns include Rajasthan and West Bengal. In Rajasthan, the internet was shut 12 times and seven times in West Bengal, in response to protests, communal violence, and exams with disruptions that impacted the daily lives of hundreds of people, the report said.
Other countries on the list
Ukraine, which has been under attack from Russia since February 2022, saw the second-highest instances of internet shutdowns. These shutdowns, the report said, were imposed by "external forces" during the conflict. Iran ranked third on the list with 18 such shutdowns.
Iran witnessed huge protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody when she was detained for not wearing the hijab properly. Other countries where the internet was shut a record number of times included Bangladesh, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Libya, Jordan and Afghanistan.
These shutdowns were imposed in view of protests, active conflicts, elections and exams, according to the report.
The report noted that the reasons for internet gags over the years have been consistent. "In the midst of unrest and conflict, or just during yearly school examinations, governments, militaries, and police forces kept people in the dark as a desperate means of control," the report said.
Human rights violations and internet shutdowns
The report said that 48 shutdowns happened in 14 countries coincided with human rights abuses. These countries include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Russia, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sudan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
It further said that most of the authorities across the world "hit the kill switch" in times of "chaos and violence". "Perpetrators imposed 48 shutdowns across 14 countries to shroud violence and serious human rights abuses, such as murder, torture, rape, or apparent war crimes. Whether in conflict zones or during mass protests, authorities used shutdowns to try to hide serious rights violations and sever communications between individuals and communities, which also impacted human rights monitoring, including shutdown tracking and provision of humanitarian aid," the report said.
'Repeat offenders'
Out of 35 countries that imposed internet shutdowns in 2022, 33 are "repeat offenders" since 2016, according to the report. There are also countries like Tigray and Ethiopia that had an internet shutdown for over two years by the end of 2022.
"16 shutdowns worldwide lasted from 2021 to 2022 and 16 are now ongoing from 2022 to 2023, compared to 8 between 2020 and 2021," the report said.
The report terms India as a 'unique case' owing to its frequency of imposing internet bans. Globally also, the number of internet shutdowns in 2022 was the highest so far.
"In 2022, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented at least 187 shutdowns across 35 countries— breaking our record for the number of countries to hit the kill switch in a single year," it said.
Mobile shutdowns target marginalised
The report on internet gags notes that mobile shutdowns in 2022 continued to target marginalised groups, including ethnic and religious minorities and other vulnerable groups. It further added that internet shutdowns "deepen" the gender digital divide as it disrupts women's access to conduct business or access information on reproductive healthcare.
"Lack of access to resources, inability to communicate with loved ones, and difficulty sending or receiving news are just a few of the impacts that each shutdown has on countless people," the report added.
