It’s simple two days In September, Afghanistan had it There is no Internet. No satellite failed; No thread is cut. This was a deliberate end, approved by the Taliban Government. More localized closures followed in the past, reportedly instituted “to protect immoral activities.” No further explanation was given. The timing wasn’t too bad: communities are still going through major earthquakes Urgent emergency communication, The planes were groundedagain Banking was disrupted.
Afghanistan’s Blackout is part of a wider pattern. Towards the end of September, there was also a nationwide internet shutdown across the country Tanzania Book and Canceoyoniand significant internal circuit closure A magnificent place and Nigeria. In all cases though one thingThe authorities do not give official reasons or recognition, leaving millions unable to get information, contact loved ones, or express times of crisis, elections, and protests.
The frequency of deliberate closures has been exemplified since the first notable example emerged Egypt in 2011. In partnership with our partners in Digital Rights Now and the #keepiton coalition, Follow us 296 Deliberate internet shutdowns in 54 countries in 2024and at least 244 more by 2025 to date.
This is more than an inconvenience. The Internet has become a critical piece of infrastructure, affecting the way we live, work, and access our information. And a A great gift of human rights, and turning off the Internet can be shared or hidden The spectrum falls abuse. These are the shining communities of peace, and they are becoming more and more common.
Shutdowns it can be local or national, partial or complete. All blackouts, like Afghanistan or Tanzania, nothing works. But shutdowns tend to be addressed more granularly. CellePhoneE Internet can be blocked, but not broadband. Special news sites, social media platforms, and messaging systems can be blocked, leaving complete network access unusable—as in Brazil shut up X (formerly Twitter) in 2024. Sometimes bandwidth is fine – revisedwhich makes everything slow and unreliable.
Sometimes, internet blocking is used for political or military operations. In recent years, Russian and Ukraine they shut down parts of each other’s internet, and Israel it has been closed many times Palestinian Internet in Gaza. Closures of this type occur 25 times in 2024affecting people in 13 countries.
The reasons for the closure vary depending on the country of origin. General information management is one. Shutdowns often come in response to political unrest, as governments try to protect people from organizing and accessing information; Panama had one District closure This summer is the answer demonstrations. Or during elections, as opposition parties use the Internet to mobilize supporters and communicate strategies. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenkowho has since 1994, reportedly disabled the Internet During the election at the beginning of the year, following a same move in 2020. But they can also be more banal. Access is now documented in countries that disable parts of the Internet at a time Examination times for students At least 16 times by 2024, including Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, and India.
The closure of Iran in 2022 and June This year are good examples of a more complex effort, with layers of closures that end up forcing people to use the Internet around the world and in Iran’s testing, testing the national intranet. India, meanwhile, has been the leading country in the world, with 855 unique cases. Myanmar is second with 149, followed by Pakistan and Iran. All of this information is available at your fingertips now Digital dashboardwhere you can see breakdowns by region, country, type, geographical size, and time.
There was a slight decrease in burns at the beginning of the pandemic, but they have increased significantly since then. The reasons are varied, but many can be attributed to the increase in protests related to economic difficulties and deception, as well as the backwardness of democracy and instability. In many countries today, shutdowns are a knee-jerk reaction to any form of dissent or protest, no matter how small.
A country’s ability to block the Internet depends largely on its infrastructure. In the US, for example, the ban would be difficult to enforce. As we have seen there discussions with A potential Tiktok Ban Combined in the last two years, the complex and multifaceted nature of our Internet makes it difficult to achieve. However, as we have seen with total shutdowns across countries around the world, the ripple effects in all aspects of life are immense. (Remember the effects of small-Crowdstrike in 2024-Wowhich disabled 8.5 million computers and canceled 2,200 flights in the US alone?)
When placed within the hidden Internet infrastructure, it is easy to use a mask. If a country has one mobile phone provider, or two fiber optic cables connecting the whole country, Closing down is easy.
Shutdowns are less common, but also more dangerous. Unlike years ago, when the Internet was a great way to have, or perhaps when Internet penetration rates were very low in the global south, today the Internet is an important part of the social infrastructure of – bigy of the people of the world.
It’s now been long held that denying people access to the Internet is a violation of human rights, and it’s gathered some crazy news in places like this A funeral In Ethiopia, Uganda, The bishop in Equatorial Guinea, too What is it. The Internet is an important tool for a spectrum of rights, including freedom of expression and the Council. Shutdowns do Including ongoing human rights abuses and atrocities very difficult or impossible. And they influence people’s daily lives, businesses, health, education, money, security, and safety, depending on the context. Shutdowns in conflict zones are particularly damaging, as they affect the ability of humanitarian actors to deliver aid and make it more difficult for people to find safe evacuation routes and roads for civilians.
The defenses on the ground are good. Depending on the country and type of closure, there may be some workarounds. Everything, from VPNS to Mesh networks to StoryLink to cross-border SIM cards, has been used with varying degrees of success. The tech-savvy sometimes have other options. But for many people in the community, no Internet means no Internet – and all the consequences of that loss.
The international community plays an important role in shaping how internet shutdowns are understood and addressed. The bodies of the world they saw Reliable Internet access is an essential service, and it can put more pressure on governments to maintain Internet access in the most affected areas. But while alienation has worked in some cases (Permission manager and South Sudan These are two recent examples), countries seem to be learning from each other, leading to more closures and new countries forming.
There is still time to change course, if that is what we want to do. Ultimately, the question comes down to whether governments will include the right to information and freedom of expression in the law as well. Saving the Internet is normal, though The trajectory from one internet shutdown In 2011 at 2000 blackouts 15 years later it shows that this trend has become a buffalo. The effects of that change are still happening, but they go far enough when the screen is black.
Bruce Schneier is a cybersecurity professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and a board member of Access to Digital Rights. Zach Rosson is #Keepiton’s global data and Research Lead at Access Now.
