India recorded the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2020, showed a report by digital rights and privacy organisation A...
India recorded the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2020, showed a report by digital rights and privacy organisation Access Now on Wednesday. Of the total 155 internet shutdowns globally, India alone accounted for 109, according to the report.
The report put India at the top of the list of 29 countries that restricted their citizens’ access to internet in 2020. This is the third consecutive year that India has topped the global charts on this matter. The next highest was Yemen, with six shutdowns and Ethiopia with four. The same three countries had been among the worst disruptors of the internet in 2019 as well, the report said.
“The pandemic has forced offline activities online,” said Access Now campaigner Felicia Anthonio, according to Bloomberg. “So when governments intentionally disrupt internet access it denies people the opportunities to continue their education, businesses, and access life-saving information about the pandemic.”
Read the full report here
There were at least 28 instances of full internet blackouts when citizens were plunged into “digital darkness”. The digital rights campaign said governments in 2020 increasingly used internet shutdowns in response to violence, especially in conflict zones. In other cases, the government resorted to this step either to thwart protests, or to suppress...
