New Delhi: The economic cost of digital censorship surpassed $7.69 billion as the global economy took a significant hit in 2024 due to government-imposed internet shutdowns, according to a new report from independent VPN reviewer website Top10VPN.com.
There were 167 major self-imposed internet outages that took place in 28 countries—the highest number of countries in a single year to date which included 88,788 hours of government internet disruptions, a 12 percent increase on 2023 and highest to date.
India lost $322.9 million due to 2,920 hours of internet shutdowns affecting 67.7 million, putting it in the 6th position worldwide, the report stated. Additionally, the total hours of internet blackouts nearly doubled (up by 92.3 percent) from the previous year, while the hours of social media shutdowns decreased by 26.1 percent.
Pakistan emerged as the hardest-hit country, with an economic loss of $1.62 billion due to nearly 10,000 hours of internet disruptions. Myanmar and Sudan followed closely, each suffering losses of $1.58 billion and $1.12 billion, respectively.
The report released Thursday stated that major outages across 28 countries left over 650 million people offline. Iraq emerged as the country with most internet shutdowns (61) for the second successive year, all prompted by school exams, while Myanmar and Azerbaijan oversaw the longest shutdowns, totaling over 8,784 hours each in 2024.
“There was a significant shift towards internet blackouts in 2024 as opposed to social media shutdowns. This is likely to be a response to governments realising that people will use VPNs to bypass the blocks. It may be more effective to cut internet access completely but it’s significantly more damaging to people’s livelihoods and ability to communicate,” Simon Miglian, head of research at Top10VPN, told ThePrint.
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Asia, the global epicentre
Asia accounted for the bulk of internet shutdowns, with Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India leading the charge. Shutdowns in Asia saw a 12 percent increase in 2024 as compared to 2023. The overall number of hours of internet blackout surged by 92.3 percent, although the total hours of social media platform shutdowns decreased by 26.1 percent.
The region’s economic cost of internet disruptions totaled $4.64 billion, impacting more than 331 million people. Myanmar and Pakistan, in particular, endured some of the longest recorded shutdowns, with Myanmar’s internet effectively cut off for over 8,700 hours—more than 10 full days of disconnection.
Moreover, the report stated that governments increasingly targeted specific platforms rather than entire internet networks. ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) topped the list as the most blocked social media platform, suffering 20,322 hours of disruption across 11 countries. TikTok came in second, with 8,115 hours of blocking. The primary reason behind these targeted shutdowns was to suppress political movements, control public narratives, and curb freedom of expression.
Global implications
The reports highlight a disturbing trend: as internet shutdowns become more frequent and widespread, their economic impact is escalating. From $4.01 billion in 2020 to $24.61 billion in 2022, the financial toll on the global economy has grown, affecting millions of people and industries around the world. While some countries continue to impose shutdowns for reasons ranging from national security to political control, the long-term consequences of these digital blackouts remain profound, both economically and socially.
The duration and financial impact of internet blackouts have significantly increased from 2019 to 2023. In 2023, there were 196 internet shutdowns across 25 countries, lasting a total of 79,238 hours. These disruptions cost the global economy an estimated $9.01 billion, with Russia leading the charge as the most affected nation, suffering a loss of $4.02 billion due to internet outages.
“The international community should consider imposing economic sanctions on governments that deliberately cut internet access for its own people. It should be treated in the same way as governments withholding electricity, fuel or even food and water from people. It simply causes unnecessary hardship and infringes on their human rights,” Miglian said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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