Internet is a key enabler of many fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and expression. It has also been instrumental in flourishing the economy, expanding education, expanding/ facilitating, emergency services and dispersal of e-governance initiatives.
The previous decade has witnessed an exponential increase in internet shutdowns in India with a total count of 690, out of which 110 had been implemented in the year 2021. The year 2022 saw 75 shutdowns. sflc.in/internet-shutd… #InternetShutdowns#KeepItOn#REPORT
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Government-run internet outages are picking up pace around the world. In 2021, there were 182 shutdowns in 34 countries. #India, largely Jammu and Kashmir, plunged into digital darkness more times than any other country last year.
The increasing use of the kill switch underlines a deepening global trend towards digital authoritarianism, as governments use access to the internet as a weapon against their own people. #InternetShutdowns have also become a modern canary in the coal mine.
India leads total shutdowns globally. In 2021, the world’s largest democracy shut off its internet 106 times – more than the rest of the world combined. Hardest-hit was the region of Jammu and Kashmir, which was subject to 85 shutdowns.
Frequent high-speed internet shutdowns, cuts in telephone communication, curfews and the safety of employees are some of the things affecting small businesses in Kashmir.
SMEs that focus on e-commerce and rely on online platforms for marketing and advertising face crippling difficulties because of the frequent internet cuts, especially when high-speed internet connections are suspended.
This leads to a huge decline in sales. Many have even had to change their business model to survive. This has been a problem for the people of Kashmir since 2012 when the first recorded #InternetShutdown happened.
On 25 May 2022, an internet shutdown that lasted for about 7 days was imposed in #Konaseema district of #AndhraPradesh. @SFLCin filed an application under the RTI Act, 2005 on 26 May 2022, to seek information related to the shutdown. (1/7) #LetTheNetWork sflc.in/7-day-long-int…
Acc to the order provided by the government of Andhra Pradesh in their reply, suspension of the internet was issued to prevent disruption of public order. The reply also clearly reflects that there was no end date for the internet shutdown. (2/7) #InternetShutdowns#KeepItOn
The reply states that the order was not duly published as per the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin Vs Union of India. However, no reasons were provided for this non-compliance. (3/7)
On August 4, 2019, the government suspended landline, mobile and internet services in Kashmir. The internet shutdown lasted 552 days, until February 6, 2021, making it among the longest communications blackouts ever imposed in a democracy. #LetTheNetWork
During most of the shutdown, the internet could only be used in a government-run centre, and internet access was only permitted for some government-approved websites, excluding many social media sites.
Access to 4G was only restored after 552 days of partial or no internet access, greatly hindering journalists’ ability to access and share information for months.
The communication shutdown resulted in severe restrictions on press freedom.
According to @top10vpn, there have already been more major internet shutdowns in 2022 so far compared to all of 2021 — and the economic fallout has been nearly twice as severe.
Fifty-four internet shutdowns across 16 countries cost $10.16 billion in 2022 to date, while the company tracked 50 major shutdowns costing $5.45 billion the previous year, according to the report.
Info on internet shutdowns is sourced from Netblocks, @gatech_ioda, and @SFLCin's Internet Shutdown tracker — and includes “deliberate national internet shutdowns along with regional disruptions that are on a sufficient scale to be economically significant.”