Internet Shutdowns

• Past

  National shutdown

  Iraq has again experienced its second government-scheduled exam-related Internet shutdown since 1 June 2023. 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 cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 4 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 4 June 2023 08:30 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  National shutdown

  Despite positive comments from the Iraq Ministry of Communication that they would consider not shutting down the Internet to prevent cheating during academic exams in Iraq, the government did go ahead and shut down the Internet for a four-hour period. Measurements from Cloudflare, IODA, and OONI all document this shutdown. 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 cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 1 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 1 June 2023 08:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  Service blocking

  Instant Messaging, Social Networks

  Amidst public demonstrations over the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to jail, the government of Senegal blocked access to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as to instant messaging services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger. Analysis from the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) is that ISPs are blocking sites and services by timing out TLS handshakes. Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the protocol used to make secure connections (ex. "https") to websites and services. TLS connections begin with a "handshake" between the two sites where they set up the encryption mechanism. ISPs are apparently interfering with this handshake process so that a connection cannot be established. The Internet Society Senegal Chapter published a brief statement. An English translation is:

  Senegal

  • Start 1 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 7 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 6 days

May 2023

• Past

  National shutdown

  The government of Mauritania shut down mobile Internet access on Wednesday, 1 June, after protests erupted around the country after the death of a young man, Omar Diop, in police custody. Fixed-lined connectivity continues to be available. Press reports indicate that this outage may go on for a couple of days, but we have not yet identified an official government statement.

  Mauritania

  • Start 31 May 2023 12:00 UTC
  • End 7 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 6 days, 12 hours
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Uttar Pradesh

  Internet services were suspended in Uttar Pradesh district on 29 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 29 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 29 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 0 minutes
• Past

  Service blocking

  Messaging (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram), Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat)

  Beginning on Thursday, 17 May 2023, there were many reports of blockage of some social media sites and messaging services during a period of large protests by opposition parties against the ruling junta government. The government of Guinea has denied any blocking, but press organizations in Guinea noted their lack of access. Measurements by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) showed issues connecting to specific social media sites and messaging services. On 22 May 2023, analysis by OONI indicated that this blocking seems to be happening by interference with Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections. Further measurements from OONI showed that most of the affected messaging services began having connectivity restored beginning around 23 May, with the last, Signal, have connectivity restored by 30 May. 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.    

  Guinea

  • Start 17 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 30 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 13 days
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Internet shutdown in the State of Maharashtra to prevent violence on 14 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 14 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 15 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 1 day
• 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