Every year, throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, millions of people are cut off from the Internet for lengthy periods while students take their school exams.In many countries in the region, national school exams are a major annual event. They can have a huge impact on people’s futures and the results usually […]
High Court in India Challenges Internet Shutdown Order in West Bengal By Tanmay Singh, Internet Freedom Foundation and Anandita Mishra, Internet Freedom Foundation On 8 March, 2022, a resident of Calcutta in India challenged an Internet suspension order, which was issued by the State Government of West Bengal on 3 March, 2022. The order, ostensibly […]
As events unfold in Ukraine and the world is focused on following what is happening, it’s important to remember that critical Internet infrastructure plays a key role in keeping people connected, providing access to all kinds of crucial information and support and helping people stay in contact with loved ones across borders. At the Internet […]
In the past few years, India has imposed the lion’s share of Internet shutdowns across the world. The country witnessed a marked increase in the number of shutdowns since 2016 – ordering 121 of 213 documented shutdowns in 2019, and 109 of 155 documented shutdowns in 2020. An Internet shutdown, an intentional disruption of access […]
Note: After this blog post was published, the High Court of Calcutta dismissed the order to shutdown the Internet in West Bengal. Read more about how quick legal action meant that hundreds of thousands of citizens in West Bengal were able to stay online in this blog post. Over the last few years, a worrying […]
The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) is a global community measuring Internet censorship around the world. In this short video, Maria Xynou, OONI’s Research & Partnerships Director, explains how you can take part by running the OONI Probe app to detect internet censorship where you are. She also explains how you can use the […]
With Internet shutdowns, disruptions and censorship events on the increase around the world, tracking where such events are happening and gathering evidence to help in the fight against them is becoming more and more important. Tracking these events is crucial because of the impact they have on society and the economy. When social media apps […]
“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it” – Lord Kelvin On November 11, 2021. The Internet Society India – Hyderabad Chapter organized a one-day workshop on Internet Measurements, Global Policy and Online Privacy. Held in virtual mode, the workshop was moderated by Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience expert, Amreesh Phokeer, and was attended […]
India is widely considered to be the world’s largest democracy, yet it also holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of Internet shutdowns worldwide. In 2020 alone, 109 shutdowns occurred in the country. By contrast, the nation with the second highest number of shutdowns (Yemen), had only six. The Indian government typically justifies these […]
