Internet shutdowns can harm democracies, says UN
2 years, 6 months ago

Internet shutdowns can harm democracies, says UN

India Today  

The United Nations has called on countries to stop imposing Internet shutdowns, warning of dire consequences. The UN rights office have said that if they keep imposing internet shutdowns or disruptions they will have to face deadly consequences. The report said the Internet shutdowns would impact the lives and human rights of millions of people. The UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet has noted in a statement that the internet shutdowns are taking place a time when the digital world has become essential for the realisation of many human rights. Shutting down the internet can not only hamper the economy, but can also cause mental trauma as it deprives “thousands or even millions of people of their only means of reaching loved ones, continuing their work or participating in political debates or decisions.” “Internet shutdowns have emerged as the digital world has become ever more important, indeed essential, for the realization of many human rights.

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History of this topic

No study done to calculate economic, social impact of internet shutdowns: Minister
4 months, 2 weeks ago

No study done to calculate economic, social impact of internet shutdowns: Minister

Hindustan Times  

The central government has not conducted any assessment to gauge the economic and social impacts of internet shutdowns in India, Union minister of state for communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani informed the Lok Sabha in a written response on Wednesday. In another response to a question by BJP MP Sudheer Gupta and Congress MP Chavan Vasantrao Balwantrao, the minister said that …

India leads in global internet shutdowns for 6th year in a row: Report
7 months, 1 week ago

India leads in global internet shutdowns for 6th year in a row: Report

Hindustan Times  

India logged 116 instances of internet shutdowns in 2023, accounting for 41% of the 283 globally, according to data analysed by Access Now, a not-for profit group that focusses on digital rights. Apart from blocking certain platforms across the country, 13 states in India saw local or statewide internet shutdowns. “Authorities have leveraged internet shutdowns as a blatant tool for …

Measuring internet freedom in India in the last 10 years
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Measuring internet freedom in India in the last 10 years

The Hindu  

In the Freedom Journal series, we look at how freedoms in the political, economic, digital and media landscape have evolved in the last decade. The Supreme Court of India, in the landmark Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India case, reiterated that internet shutdowns violate fundamental rights to freedom of expression, and that shutdowns which last indefinitely are unconstitutional. This, however, …

Nuh Violence: How internet shutdowns work in India? Explained
1 year, 4 months ago

Nuh Violence: How internet shutdowns work in India? Explained

Live Mint  

Haryana Nuh Violence: Mobile internet services have been temporarily suspended till August 2 in the Nuh district of Haryana after communal clashes erupted between a group of young men and Vishwa Hindu Parishad during a procession on Monday. Usually, an internet shutdown is ordered as an administrative measure across India for various reasons including communal tensions, etc. In general, an …

Manipur: Violence-hit state tops internet shutdowns in India in 2023 with 83 days of blackout
1 year, 5 months ago

Manipur: Violence-hit state tops internet shutdowns in India in 2023 with 83 days of blackout

India Today  

Manipur has now witnessed the longest internet shutdown in India in 2023. Case in point, after the gruesome video of sexual violence went viral, Chief Minister N Biren Singh told India Today on July 20, “You should not listen to allegations but look at the ground reality. At the same time, Kargil, following the separation of Ladakh as a Union …

Internet ban partially lifted in India’s violence-hit Manipur
1 year, 5 months ago

Internet ban partially lifted in India’s violence-hit Manipur

Al Jazeera  

The government in India’s northeastern Manipur state has partially lifted a ban on broadband internet for the first time since violence erupted on May 3, and led to a state-wide internet shutdown. The state-wide internet ban since May 3 has been criticised by human rights organisations, who said the blackout prevented the world from “seeing the true extend of human …

Should Internet shutdowns be used to maintain public order?
1 year, 5 months ago

Should Internet shutdowns be used to maintain public order?

The Hindu  

Over the past few years, the Indian government has increasingly been trying to control law and order by shutting access to the Internet, whether in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur or Punjab. Radhika Jhalani: Since 2012, the number of shutdowns in India recorded by The Internet Shutdowns Tracker maintained by the Software Freedom Law Center stands at 738. Editorial | Overkill: …

Most internet shutdowns in last 3 years to curb protests: Report
1 year, 6 months ago

Most internet shutdowns in last 3 years to curb protests: Report

Hindustan Times  

Eighteen Indian states shut down the internet at least once in the three years between January 2020 to December 2022, the Internet Freedom Foundation and Human Rights Watch noted, highlighting that local authorities used the shutdowns to prevent or in response to protests in 57 instances, to prevent cheating in school examinations or in exams for government jobs in 37 …

Modi government’s internet blackouts hurt the poor and curbed job opportunities, HRW says
1 year, 6 months ago

Modi government’s internet blackouts hurt the poor and curbed job opportunities, HRW says

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy More than 100 internet shutdowns …

DC Edit | Manipur's Net shutdown is excessive and uncalled for
1 year, 6 months ago

DC Edit | Manipur's Net shutdown is excessive and uncalled for

Deccan Chronicle  

One of the easiest routes governments and security agencies take these days to curb popular unrest or disturbances is to shut down Internet services for an infinite period. While deciding a case against the Union government suspending the Internet in Jammu and Kashmir, the court had held that usage of the Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of …

Patralekha Chatterjee | Shutting down Internet: Govts need to do rethink
1 year, 7 months ago

Patralekha Chatterjee | Shutting down Internet: Govts need to do rethink

Deccan Chronicle  

Governments across the world are increasingly resorting to Internet shutdowns to stabilise potentially volatile situations, quell protests, and even to deal with problems like cheating in examinations. According to digital rights group Top10VPN, which researches the economic impacts of Internet shutdowns, in 2023 alone, 46 Internet shutdowns in 10 countries cost $761 million till date. In the Northeast itself, the …

India leads in Internet shutdowns, but lacks tool to assess impact - The Hindu
1 year, 8 months ago

India leads in Internet shutdowns, but lacks tool to assess impact - The Hindu

The Hindu  

Earlier this month, the Punjab government suspended mobile Internet and SMS services in the State for more than four days as it launched an operation to arrest pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh. Map 1 The map shows the State-wise instances of Internet shutdowns recorded between 2012 and March 2023, according to SFLC Chart appears incomplete? It came down heavily on “Internet …

India leads world in cutting internet access for 5th year in a row: report
1 year, 9 months ago

India leads world in cutting internet access for 5th year in a row: report

The Hindu  

India imposed by far the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now said on February 28, as the country topped the list for the fifth successive year. Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Kashmir, the New York-based digital rights advocacy …

Internet shutdown: Nearly half of global blackouts happened in THIS country
1 year, 9 months ago

Internet shutdown: Nearly half of global blackouts happened in THIS country

Live Mint  

Digital rights advocacy group Access Now's 2022 report, which covers total blackouts, the suspension of particular phone networks or social media apps and the slowing down of internet connections, was compiled using technical evaluations, news articles and personal testimony. Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Kashmir, the watchdog …

In 2022, the world saw 187 internet shutdowns – 84 by India alone
1 year, 9 months ago

In 2022, the world saw 187 internet shutdowns – 84 by India alone

Al Jazeera  

More than half of those shutdowns were recorded in Kashmir as India leads the Access Now list for a fifth consecutive year. These were the findings of a report released on Tuesday by digital rights watchdog Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition, which said governments are using internet shutdowns as “weapons of control and shields of impunity”. pic.twitter.com/gQzIUaYFo2 — Access …

'The internet is dead in Iran': Protests targeted by shutdown
2 years, 2 months ago

'The internet is dead in Iran': Protests targeted by shutdown

The Hindu  

Saeed Souzangar, who runs a technology company in Tehran, is adept at navigating frequent internet disruptions to ensure his business can keep operating, but even he has been thrown by nationwide communications outages this month. Iran was one of the countries with the highest number of internet shutdowns last year, with authorities pulling the plug to clamp down on dissent, …

Internet Shutdowns Are Increasing In India: 10 Ways To Survive Without Internet Suddenly
2 years, 5 months ago

Internet Shutdowns Are Increasing In India: 10 Ways To Survive Without Internet Suddenly

News 18  

Shutting down mobile internet has become the first step for governments across India whenever there is some kind of violence or even during any major examination. Always carry sufficient cash No matter how many mobile wallets you use or you may believe in completely relying on UPI but when there’s no internet, cash rules. Also, it is a bad idea …

Internet shutdowns bleeding businesses, hitting country's image
3 years ago

Internet shutdowns bleeding businesses, hitting country's image

Business Standard  

On September 26 this year, over 10 districts of Rajasthan, including the capital city of Jaipur, faced a dawn to dusk internet shutdown. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has recently noted that internet shutdowns, often imposed in an arbitrary manner, have led to huge economic losses, untold suffering for the public, and ‘severe reputational damage’ to …

Behind the great Indian Internet shutdown
3 years, 3 months ago

Behind the great Indian Internet shutdown

The Hindu  

On January 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of India held that access to information via the Internet is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution. The Court reiterated that the Government’s orders restricting Internet access are subject to review by Courts. India’s Internet restrictions also accounted for more than 70% of the total loss to the global economy in 2020, …

The cost of Internet shutdowns
3 years, 10 months ago

The cost of Internet shutdowns

The Hindu  

The movement led by farmers against the Central government’s agricultural laws has become a part of our national and international discourse. A principal concern among these has been the recurrent shutdowns, ordered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, of Internet services around many border areas of NCR since the unruly incidents on January 26. Many parts of Jammu and Kashmir …

Internet Services Suspended for 12 Hours at Protest Sites in Delhi as Farmers Rally Turns Violent
3 years, 10 months ago

Internet Services Suspended for 12 Hours at Protest Sites in Delhi as Farmers Rally Turns Violent

News 18  

As the farmers’ tractor parade turned violent with a clash breaking out between police personnel and protesters in the national capital, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order for temporary suspension of internet services in parts of the National Capital Region. The government order sent to telecom service providers directed temporary suspension of internet services in areas of Singhu, …

India restricted Internet access more than any country, lost $2.8 billion: Global survey
3 years, 11 months ago

India restricted Internet access more than any country, lost $2.8 billion: Global survey

The Hindu  

India is the most economically impacted nation by Internet shutdowns in 2020, a recent global survey has found. The report, titled “Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns in 2020”, has been prepared by Top10VPN, a digital privacy group working to defend digital freedoms through independent reviews and research. According to the report, the total hours of Internet shutdown stood at 27,165, …

Internet shutdowns in 2020 costs India $2.8 billion
3 years, 11 months ago

Internet shutdowns in 2020 costs India $2.8 billion

The Hindu  

Internet shutdowns last year has cost India $2.8 billion, according to estimates by Top10VPN, a digital privacy research group. Top10VPN estimated that more than 1,600 hours of Internet blackouts and 7,000 hours of bandwidth throttling has cost the country about $2.8 billion, accounting to 70% of the total loss of $4 bn to the world economy. Top10VPN defined internet shutdown …

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