Access Now, a New York-based non-profit organization working on the digital civil rights of people around the world, recently published a report titled "Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022," which revealed that in 2022, authorities shut down the internet across 35 countries at least 187 times, marking the highest number ever recorded in a single year. India had the highest number of shutdowns (84), followed by Ukraine (22), Iran (18), Myanmar (7), and Bangladesh (6). The report stated that governments worldwide have suspended internet services in response to significant national-level issues such as protests, conflicts, exams, elections, and political unrest.
Felicia Anthonio, a campaign manager at Access Now, said that "Governments wield internet shutdowns as weapons of control and shields of impunity," and that in 2022, under authoritarian regimes and in democracies, powermongers accelerated their use of these callous tactics, disrupting the internet to fuel their agendas of oppression. Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition believe that open, secure internet access belongs to all and will continue to meet these attacks on human rights with collective defiance.
The report also listed other countries where authorities shut down the internet in 2022, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
Zach Rosson, a data analyst at Access Now, called 2022 a catastrophe for human rights and emphasized that while the damage caused by internet shutdowns last year is unfathomable, it is not inevitable. The international community has the power and momentum to not only stop the resurging global trend of deliberate disruptions but to expunge it for good.
