Internet Shutdowns
Who Shuts Down the Internet the Most?
Based on 843 shutdowns we've tracked since 2018
- Africa
- Americas
- Asia
- Europe
- Oceania
Ongoing
10
ongoing shutdowns around the world
109
Internet shutdowns around the world since June 2024
14
countries have experienced a total or partial Internet shutdown since June 2024
Since June 2024, the world’s population has lost a total of
28,002 hours
of access to the Internet due to intentional disruptions.
Over the past 12 months, we estimate that
US $397,167,865
has been lost in combined GDP across all countries that have experienced Internet shutdowns
Shutdowns
June 2024
843 shutdowns
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Past
National shutdown
For a fifth - and presumably final - day, the Algerian government is shutting down the Internet for the entire country during school exams, following the pattern of the last few days. Data from Cloudflare Radar and IODA show that Algeria appears to be following a similar pattern to last year, with a longer outage in the morning and then a second outage in the afternoon. As we noted in our post about exam-related shutdowns in 2024, these Baccalaureate exams go from 9-13 June 2024. We have seen daily shutdowns on each of the days, and today is supposed to be the final day. In analyzing the data, it appears that the Algerian government is engaging in content blocking whereby the actual Internet connections remain active, but the Internet service providers are ordered to block certain sites, including social media networks and messaging sites. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country’s economy and society and are in our opinion not the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheatingAlgeria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 3 hours
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Past
National shutdown
At the request of the Syrian Ministry of Education, the Internet in Syria was suspended on the morning of 13 June 2024, between 6:00 and 10:00 local time (+3 UTC) ahead of the last day of high school exams. As per Syrian Telecom. Along with this should event, mobile telecommunication is also scheduled t be shut off between 8:00 and 9:00 local time (+3 UTC). The #KeepItOn coalition, which the Internet Society is a member, recently urged Syrian and other authorities to abstain from implementing Internet shutdowns during exams, noting the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact on exam cheating, the economic cost of shutdowns on countries, and their violation of human rights. Syria ordered 11 Internet shutdowns in 2023, all related to exams.Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 4 hours
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Past
National shutdown
Iraq authorities ordered Internet services to be suspended again on the morning of 13 June 2024, between 6:00 and 8:00 local time (+3 UTC). The shutdown follows an announcement by Iraq's Ministry of Communication on 19 May 2024 stating that they will enact the Ministry of Education's request to order Internet shutdowns on exam days in May and June as part of its efforts to prevent cheating. In an open letter to the Prime Minister of Iraq, the #KeepItOn coalition, which the Internet Society is a member, recently urged authorities to abstain from implementing Internet shutdowns during exams. The letter notes the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact on exam cheating, the economic cost of shutdowns on the country, and their violation of human rights. Iraq ordered more than 40 Internet shutdowns last year, most of which were related to exams.Iraq
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 2 hours
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Past
National shutdown
For a fourth day, the Algerian government is shutting down the Internet for the entire country during school exams, following the pattern of the last few days. Data from Cloudflare Radar and IODA show that Algeria appears to be following a similar pattern to last year, with a longer outage in the morning and then a second outage in the afternoon. As we noted in our post about exam-related shutdowns in 2024, these Baccalaureate exams go from 9-13 June 2024. We expect to see daily shutdowns on these days. In analyzing the data, it appears that the Algerian government is engaging in content blocking whereby the actual Internet connections remain active, but the Internet service providers are ordered to block certain sites, including social media networks and messaging sites. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country’s economy and society and are in our opinion not the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheatingAlgeria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 3 hours
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Past
National shutdown
At the request of the Syrian Ministry of Education, the Internet in Syria was suspended on the morning of 12 June 2024, between 6:00 and 9:00 local time (+3 UTC) ahead of a day of high school exams. According to Syrian Telecom, these shutdowns will occur daily through 13 June. The #KeepItOn coalition, which the Internet Society is a member, recently urged Syrian and other authorities to abstain from implementing Internet shutdowns during exams, noting the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact on exam cheating, the economic cost of shutdowns on countries, and their violation of human rights. Syria ordered 11 Internet shutdowns in 2023, all related to exams.Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 3 hours
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Past
National shutdown
Iraq authorities ordered Internet services to be suspended again on the morning of 12 June 2024, between 6:00 and 8:00 local time (+3 UTC). The shutdown follows an announcement by Iraq's Ministry of Communication on 19 May 2024 stating that they will enact the Ministry of Education's request to order Internet shutdowns on exam days in May and June as part of its efforts to prevent cheating. In an open letter to the Prime Minister of Iraq, the #KeepItOn coalition, which the Internet Society is a member, recently urged authorities to abstain from implementing Internet shutdowns during exams. The letter notes the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact on exam cheating, the economic cost of shutdowns on the country, and their violation of human rights. Iraq ordered more than 40 Internet shutdowns last year, most of which were related to exams.Iraq
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 2 hours
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Past
National shutdown
For a third day, it appears that Algeria is shutting down the Internet for the entire country during school exams, following the pattern of the last few days. Data from Cloudflare Radar and IODA show that Algeria appears to be following a similar pattern to last year, with a longer outage in the morning and then a second outage in the afternoon. As we noted in our post about exam-related shutdowns in 2024, these Baccalaureate exams go from 9-13 June 2024. We expect to see daily shutdowns on these days. In analyzing the data, it appears that the Algerian government is engaging in content blocking whereby the actual Internet connections remain active, but the Internet service providers are ordered to block certain sites, including social media networks and messaging sites. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country’s economy and society and are in our opinion not the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheatingAlgeria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 3 hours
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Past
National shutdown
At the request of the Syrian Ministry of Education, the Internet in Syria was suspended on the morning of 11 June 2024, between 6:00 and 10:30 local time (+3 UTC) ahead of a day of high school exams. According to Syrian Telecom, these shutdowns will occur daily through 13 June. The #KeepItOn coalition, which the Internet Society is a member, recently urged Syrian and other authorities to abstain from implementing Internet shutdowns during exams, noting the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact on exam cheating, the economic cost of shutdowns on countries, and their violation of human rights. Syria ordered 11 Internet shutdowns in 2023, all related to exams.Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 4 hours
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Past
National shutdown
Iraq authorities ordered Internet services to be suspended again on the morning of 11 June 2024, between 6:00 and 8:00 local time (+3 UTC). The shutdown follows an announcement by Iraq's Ministry of Communication on 19 May 2024 stating that they will enact the Ministry of Education's request to order Internet shutdowns on exam days in May and June as part of its efforts to prevent cheating. In an open letter to the Prime Minister of Iraq, the #KeepItOn coalition, which the Internet Society is a member, recently urged authorities to abstain from implementing Internet shutdowns during exams. The letter notes the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact on exam cheating, the economic cost of shutdowns on the country, and their violation of human rights. Iraq ordered more than 40 Internet shutdowns last year, most of which were related to exams.Iraq
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 2 hours
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Past
National shutdown
For a second day, Algeria shut down the Internet for the entire country during school exams. Data from Cloudflare Radar and IODA show that Algeria appears to be following a similar pattern to last year, with a longer outage in the morning and then a second outage in the afternoon. As we noted in our post about exam-related shutdowns in 2024, these Baccalaureate exams go from 9-13 June 2024. We expect to see daily shutdowns on these days. In analyzing the data, it appears that the Algerian government is engaging in content blocking whereby the actual Internet connections remain active, but the Internet service providers are ordered to block certain sites, including social media networks and messaging sites. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country’s economy and society and are in our opinion not the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheatingAlgeria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 8 hours
- Page 12 of 85.