Internet Shutdowns

• Past

  Regional shutdown

  The Internet was Shutdown in Papumpare and Itanagar for a period of 3 days on 9 May, 2023.It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions in order to maintain public order.Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries.

  India

  • Start 9 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 12 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 3 days
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Starting on 9 May 2023, the government of Pakistan reportedly ordered regional shutdowns of mobile Internet access amidst violent protests following the arrest of Imran Khan, a former Prime Minister and current leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party. Reports indicated that mobile coverage was disrupted but wired / fixed coverage continues. Various media stories reported blocking of social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter. We were not able to confirm any specific blocking of services (versus just a complete shutdown of connectivity), however OONI data shown below seems to indicate that such service blockage is happening. Measurements from IODA and Cloudflare Radar indicate that Internet connectivity through mobile networks was restored on 12 May 2023. However, OONI measurements indicated that some service blocking continued into the following week and was not fully restored until 18 May.

  Pakistan

  • Start 9 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 12 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 3 days

April 2023

• Past

  Regional shutdown

  mobile, fiber

  Manipur State

  On 28 April, Section 144 was enforced, coupled with a five-day suspension of Internet services in Churachandpur, India. After violence erupted in the northeast Indian state of Manipur on 3 May, the Indian government deployed the army and ordered an Internet shutdown across eight districts. The Indian government has issued multiple extensions continuing the Internet shutdown. On 25 July, the Indian government partially lifted the shutdown when they indicated that fixed broadband connections could be resumed if they complied with strict requirements around static IP addresses for tracking, blocking VPNs, and more. Mobile Internet access continues to be blocked. On 23 September, the Manipur Chief Minister announced that Internet services will be restored from that day onwards, as reported by India Today.

  India

  • Start 28 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 23 September 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 148 days
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  West Bengal

  Internet services were suspended in West Bengal on 27 April 2023. It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions in order to maintain public order. Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries.

  India

  • Start 27 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 30 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 3 days
• Past

  National shutdown

  Internet services in Chad were disrupted in what seems to be a knock on effect caused by disruptions in Sudan as the deadly conflict there escalates. The outage was caused by the breakdown of infrastructure linking Chad with Sudan and Cameroon.  

  Chad

  • Start 23 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 24 April 2023 16:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 1 day, 16 hours
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  internet services

  Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district

  Internet services were suspended in Bharatpur on 22 April 2023.It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions in order to maintain public order.Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries.

  India

  • Start 22 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 23 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 1 day
• Past

  National shutdown

  Sudan has experienced multiple Internet interruptions as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces intensified in Khartoom and beyond. According to Reuters, Sudanese provider MTN was ordered to shutdown the Internet on 16 April but connectivity was restored shortly after. After several days of disruptions, the country was completely disconnected from the global Internet by 23 April 2023. Because much of Chad's upstream connectivity is provided by Sudatel through SudaChad, Chad is also experiencing Internet disruption as a knock on effect.

  Sudan

  • Start 19 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 24 April 2023 16:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 5 days, 16 hours
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Prayagraj district

  Internet services were suspended in Prayagraj district on 15 April 2023It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions in order to maintain public order.Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries.

  India

  • Start 15 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 17 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 days
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  internet service

  Sambalpur district

  Internet services were suspended in Sambalpur District on 13 April 2023It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions in order to maintain public order.Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries.

  India

  • Start 13 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 15 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 days
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Mobile Internet

  Amhara

  Internet services have been suspended in several parts of the Amhara region, amid intense fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Fano militia group.

  Ethiopia

  • Start 6 April 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 16 July 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 101 days