Internet Shutdowns

Global view of Internet shutdowns

Based on 959 shutdowns we've tracked since 2019. To learn more about how we define, measure, and verify shutdowns, go to the shutdown methodology.

Shutdowns are a critical threat to the Internet

An Internet shutdown is an intentional disruption of Internet or electronic communications, often ordered by governments to control information flow. They are a harmful and disproportionate response to complex issues. The United Nations considers cutting users off from Internet access to be a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Governments often cite multiple reasons for shutdowns, such as maintaining social peace, responding to security, fighting fake news, and preventing cheating in exams. There is no evidence that shutdowns are effective at achieving their goals. Instead, they weaken users’ trust in digital services, damage the economy, deter foreign investment, and undermine human rights.

Despite this, as of 17 August 2026 there are currently 11 ongoing shutdowns. There have been 75 total or partial shutdowns across 10 countries since August 2025, resulting in a loss of 18,595 hours of access to the Internet due to intentional disruptions. Read our policy brief to learn more about our position, or explore shutdown trends and analysis on the Pulse blog.

Ongoing Internet shutdowns Permanent link

How we verify Internet Shutdowns

View details

We started tracking Internet shutdowns in 2019, and to date, we’ve tracked 959. There have been Internet shutdowns in a total of 61 countries since we started tracking, with a median duration of 8 hours. The latest country to experience a shutdown for the first time is Afghanistan. Asia is the region with the highest number of shutdowns over time. The most common shutdown trigger over the past 12 months is Exams, and of all time is Government Action.

One trend that is hard to see in the data set itself is the growth in regional and hyper-localized shutdown events. These are difficult to capture and track using traditional Internet measurement tools. For these, we rely more heavily on reports from trusted partners and media outlets. If you’re aware of a shutdown that we seem to be missing in our dataset, contact the Pulse team.

You can download the dataset or use the Pulse API.

Compare shutdowns between countries and across regions

Region

Total number of hours is cumulative, and includes all national and regional shutdowns.

Run an Internet impact assessment

Explore resources and activities to stop shutdowns and help governments commit to an open, unrestricted Internet.

Go to impact assessment toolkit

Explore shutdown stories on the Pulse blog

Find reports, trends, analysis, and opinion pieces by our team and guest authors from around the world on the Internet Society Pulse blog.

Read the Pulse blog

Read and share the Internet Society’s position paper

Learn more about the negative impact of Internet shutdowns on economies, people, and on the interconnected Internet itself, and what we advocate for instead.

Read the policy brief

All tracked shutdowns Permanent link

Download the dataset
Country Start date Verification level Shutdown reach Cause Affected services Duration
India 17 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 0 minutes
India 16 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services 0 minutes
India 16 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 8 days
Venezuela 15 May 2019 Confirmed Service blocking Government Action Periscope, Instagram 0 minutes
Eritrea 15 May 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Government Action Facebook, Social Networks 10 days
Sri Lanka 13 May 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Government Action Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, X (Twitter), Snapchat, WhatsApp, YouTube, Viber 3 days, 23 hours
India 12 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 0 minutes
India 12 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 0 minutes
India 11 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 3 days
India 10 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Internet Services 1 day
Kazakhstan 9 May 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Government Action YouTube, Instagram, Telegram, X (Twitter) 10 days
Venezuela 5 May 2019 Confirmed Service blocking Government Action Periscope, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube 2 hours
Sri Lanka 5 May 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Government Action Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram, Viber, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook 10 hours
Venezuela 3 May 2019 Acknowledged Service blocking Government Action Instagram, YouTube 2 hours
Venezuela 3 May 2019 Acknowledged Service blocking Government Action Periscope, YouTube, Facebook 3 hours
India 3 May 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Internet Services 4 days, 9 hours
India 3 May 2019 Acknowledged Regional shutdown Government Action Internet Services 4 days
Venezuela 2 May 2019 Confirmed Service blocking Government Action Periscope, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram 20 minutes
Benin 1 May 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Protests Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, VPN services, X (Twitter), Telegram 1 day
Venezuela 30 April 2019 Confirmed Service blocking War/Conflict Periscope, Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) 16 hours
Venezuela 27 April 2019 Confirmed Service blocking Government Action Instagram, Periscope, X (Twitter) 0 minutes
Benin 27 April 2019 Confirmed Service blocking Elections VPN services, X (Twitter), Facebook, Telegram, Instagram, WhatsApp 2 days
India 25 April 2019 Confirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 0 minutes
Tajikistan 23 April 2019 Confirmed Service blocking Government Action WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram 15 days
India 22 April 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Government Action Facebook 2 days