In a disturbing trend, India has become one of the top hubs of internet shutdown in the first half of 2023.
The country took the second spot in the world, after only Iran, in terms of the number of internet restrictions in the first half of 2023.
Privacy protection company, Surfshark, conducted a half-year analysis of internet shutdowns based on the Internet Shutdown Tracker. Globally, there were 42 new internet disruptions during the first half of 2023, with India responsible for 9 of them.
This puts India in second place by new restriction count, behind only Iran, which had 14 such cases. Asia accounted for 71% of all new cases, highlighting the region’s significance in this global challenge.
The third spot was taken by Pakistan.
Interestingly, strife-torn Manipur is facing an internet ban since May 3 even as there were multiple petitions at different courts, calling for lifting the ban.
“It is deeply concerning to witness the alarming surge in internet restrictions in India, particularly as so many of them occurred amid protests. These restrictions severely limit people’s ability to spread information to the rest of the world, organize further protests, and contact friends and loved ones,” stated Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfshark spokeswoman.
Surfshark’s analysis reveals that more than two-thirds of government-imposed internet restrictions worldwide in the first half of 2023 (a total of 30) were triggered by public demonstrations. This highlights the critical role of the internet as a battleground for vital information during periods of civil unrest.
“Today, billions of people are subjected to internet restrictions, which continue to increase at an alarming rate. The internet serves as a lifeline for communication, information sharing, and activism, and its restrictions during times of political turmoil pose a significant threat to democracy and human rights,” said Racaityte-Krasauske.
Amid these concerning trends, there is a glimmer of positive news from the Jammu & Kashmir region, known for its frequent internet restrictions. The region witnessed a significant decline in new cases, with only 2 recorded in the first half of 2023 compared to a shocking 35 during the same period in 2022.
This drop in cases in J&K contributed to a 31% global decrease in internet restrictions when comparing the first half-years of 2022 and 2023. However, excluding Jammu & Kashmir from these calculations reveals a 54% increase in global restrictions, rising from 26 cases in the first half of 2022 to 40 in the first half of 2023. This analysis suggests that the overall global situation of internet shutdowns (excluding Jammu & Kashmir) may have worsened.
Disturbing Fact
India has had the most internet restrictions worldwide since 2015, with 111 recorded cases, followed by Iran with 41 cases and Venezuela with 35 cases. This data is sourced from Surfshark’s Internet Shutdown Tracker, last updated on July 4, 2023.
