New Delhi: Despite advocating for a robust digital public infrastructure during its 2023 G20 presidency, India became the global leader in internet shutdowns for the sixth year in a row, according to a report by Access Now, an international digital rights nonprofit.
Of the 283 total shutdowns documented across 39 countries India alone accounted for 116 – nearly 41 percent, according to the report, titled ‘Shrinking Democracy, Growing Violence: Internet Shutdowns in 2023’, published earlier this month. Manipur, embroiled in an ethnic conflict for over a year, experienced the longest shutdown, lasting 212 days.
The report said that 2023 was the “most violent year of shutdowns on record, with 173 shutdowns corresponding with acts of violence”— representing a 26 percent increase from the previous year.
The list of countries witnessing significant internet shutdowns also grew, with ten nations recording at least four shutdowns in a single year, compared to nine in 2022. In both 2022 and 2023, India, Iran, Myanmar, and Ukraine appeared in the list of top five countries with the highest number of shutdowns.
“Shutdowns, together with an uptick in censorship and take-down orders since 2021, signal a deepening of digital authoritarianism in India,” Raman Jit Singh Chima, the Asia Pacific policy director for Access Now, told ThePrint. “This is not only an alarming violation of human rights in the digital age, but is also incompatible with the vision of a ‘Digital India’.”
Chima emphasised that reforms protecting the right to free speech and access to information are urgently needed.
“The incoming government has the opportunity to take a clear stand to make India shutdown free,” he added.
More shutdowns, bigger digital divide
In 2023 and 2024, a wave of protests across India—from farmers in the north to the Maratha community in Maharashtra, to Sonam Wangchuk’s Pashmina march in Ladakh—were met with swift internet shutdowns.
This year, 13 states and Union territories have implemented internet shutdowns. Of these, 7 states imposed shutdowns five or more times.
Since 2023, Manipur has been the worst hit, enduring a state-wide mobile internet shutdown for almost seven months, with only a brief respite of three days. The shutdown, which also included fixed-line connections for two months, persisted into 2024 in some areas.
Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 17 shutdowns, with eight occurring in the last ten days of 2023 in Poonch and Rajouri following reports of military abuse and torture of civilians.
Bihar saw a significant increase in shutdowns, totalling 12 compared to just one the previous year, with 11 of these targeting social media services. Haryana recorded 10 shutdowns, while West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan each had five.
Shruti Narayan, Asia Pacific policy fellow at Access Now, addressed the wider impact on citizens, highlighting that 96 percent of internet users in India rely on mobile devices.
“Shutdowns affecting mobile internet services hamper people’s ability to access healthcare, education and other resources online,” Narayan told ThePrint. “The manner in which shutdowns are deployed undermines transparency because authorities do not keep data on the number or impact of shutdowns despite widening the digital divide.”
This, she added, makes it difficult to research and analyse the impact of shutdowns on human rights, “leading to no accountability”.
Increasing shutdown powers
Before 2017, the Indian government lacked a legal framework to authorise internet shutdowns. However, the introduction of the 2017 Telecom Suspension Rules, under the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, provided a legislative basis for shutdowns authorised by the central government.
But in 2019, this was challenged in the Supreme Court by journalist Anuradha Bhasin following a lengthy internet suspension in Jammu & Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
Subsequently, in a January 2020 ruling, the Supreme Court declared indefinite internet shutdowns illegal under the 2017 Rules, restricting them to a maximum of 15 days. The court also made note of the rules’ inadequate safeguards.
Despite this, the rules were circumvented in Manipur last year, with 44 separate shutdown orders being issued within the 15-day window, according to Access Now.
The 2017 Rules authorise telecom/internet shutdowns based on “public emergency” and “public safety, but fail to define these terms. Oversight of shutdown orders is entrusted to a three-member review committee, headed by the cabinet secretary at the central level and chief secretary at the state level. Only courts can challenge these orders, but judicial reviews often take a long time and occur after shutdowns are lifted, making it difficult to pronounce a verdict.
Last December, Parliament passed the Telecom Communications Act 2023 to replace the 2017 Suspension Act, although the new rules under it are yet to be notified.
The new law grants the Union government broad powers to suspend internet services, intercept communications, detain data, or control telecommunication networks, citing reasons of “public safety” and “national security”.
Clause 20(2)(b) also reinforces the government’s authority to suspend internet services without incorporating the procedural safeguards recommended in the Anuradha Bhasin case and reports by the Standing Committee on Information Technology.
This move has been met with criticism by civil society and activists for solidifying shutdown powers without adequate safeguards, such as time limits or proportionality standards.
International trends
Internet shutdowns are rising dramatically worldwide, according to the Access Now report. Since the nonprofit started tracking incidents in 2016, the year 2023 saw the highest number ever recorded, with a 41 percent increase compared to 2022.
The report also showed considerable regional disparities.
While Africa saw 17 shutdowns across nine countries, the Asia Pacific region experienced 167 incidents documented in seven countries, with India leading the way, followed by Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) saw 18 shutdowns in four countries, with Ukraine recording the highest number at eight.
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), four shutdowns occurred in four countries. While Cuba imposed shutdowns for the fourth consecutive year, Suriname joined the list for the first time.
Finally, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw 77 shutdowns in 15 countries, with Iran imposing the highest number at 34.
The severity of shutdowns also escalated in 2023, with 17 countries enduring internet restrictions for the entire year.
A record-breaking 35 shutdowns also carried over from 2023 into 2024. These ongoing shutdowns include a mix of 26 platform blocks targeting social media like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and Signal, and full network shutdowns in regions across Ethiopia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Palestine.
Moreover, several countries have consistently implemented or maintained shutdowns every year since 2016, including India, Algeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and the UAE.
Additionally, Bangladesh, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Yemen have experienced shutdowns for five or more consecutive years since 2016. “While there may have been a gap year or two, people in Chad, China, Russia, and Uganda have also experienced shutdowns in five or more years,” the report added.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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