Internet Shutdowns

• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Mobile Internet Services

  Mon, Nagaland

  Local authorities ordered mobile Internet service providers to suspend Internet services in the Mon district until further notice on 4 December to maintain law and order during the civil unrest that broke out in the district. Services were restored the following afternoon (5 December). Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact citizens' ability 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 other countries.

  India

  • Start 5 December 2021 00:00 UTC
  • End 5 December 2021 14:30 UTC
  • Total Duration 14 hours

November 2021

• Past

  National shutdown

  Mobile data

  Mobile Internet services were shut down in Burkina Faso on 20 November, 2021 following anti-government protests across the country. In response to the protests, the government announced that mobile networks would be unavailable for 96 hours, cutting off millions of citizens' Internet access.   While fixed-line and wireless services were unaffected, there are less than 0.05 fixed line connections per 100 inhabitants, and the vast majority of Burkina Faso's connected citizens access the Internet via mobile networks. This shutdown lasted over a week, meaning citizens could not access online businesses, banking services, health services, educational institutions, nor contact loves ones. 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.  

  Burkina Faso

  • Start 20 November 2021 01:00 UTC
  • End 28 November 2021 20:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 8 days, 19 hours

October 2021

• Past

  National shutdown

  Sudan’s military cut fixed and mobile Internet connectivity on 25 October 2021, after it seized power just ahead of the country’s general elections. Sudan was under a transitional authority after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, and the military following its takeover declared a state of emergency as protesters took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, in opposition to the coup. On 9 November, Khartoum’s District Court ordered ISPs to restore Internet access, but services only began to return after 25 days of blackout, on 18 November, prolonged by the insistence of the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority for the shutdown to remain in place. Zain and MTN were the first to come back online, followed by Sudatel and later by other providers. Al Jazeera Arabic reported that the Internet blackout caused economic losses amounting to tens of millions of dollars per day, with telecommunications companies alone losing USD 6 million daily. Citizens resorted to roaming services on international SIM cards sent from overseas to get in touch with their loved ones.    

  Sudan

  • Start 25 October 2021 02:30 UTC
  • End 18 November 2021 12:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 24 days, 9 hours
• Past

  National shutdown

  Bangladesh mobile operators GrameenPhone, Robi Axiata and Banglalink were ordered to shut down 3G and 4G services in the wake of attacks on religious sites in an attempt to quell rising violence. 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.  

  Bangladesh

  • Start 14 October 2021 23:00 UTC
  • End 15 October 2021 10:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 11 hours

September 2021

• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Mobile Internet, SMS

  Haryana, Kurukshetra, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat, Karnal

  Ahead of protests on 7 September 2021, the district administration of Karnal in Haryana ordered for mobile Internet and SMS services to be suspended for 24 hours in the adjoining districts of Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, and Panipat from half past midnight local time. While fixed-lines were unaffected, only 2 out of every 100 people in India have a fixed telephone subscription. 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 7 September 2021 00:00 UTC
  • End 7 September 2021 23:59 UTC
  • Total Duration 23 hours

August 2021

• Past

  National shutdown

  Mobile Data

  The three-hour disruption in Internet access began after activists called for anti-corruption protests against the government, demanding the resignation of President Salva Kiir.  The Minister of Information, Communication and Postal Services denied a government-mandated shutdown, attributing the outage to technical problems. Amnesty International suspects the shutdown may have been a deliberate attempt to derail the protests, which the armed forces prevented from taking place.  

  South Sudan

  • Start 29 August 2021 19:00 UTC
  • End 29 August 2021 22:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 3 hours
• Past

  Service blocking

  Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook

  Internet users in Zambia were unable to access social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Whatsapp, on the day of the country’s general elections on the 12th of August. Local media had previously reported government plans to shut down access to social media to ‘maintain peace and order during the voting period.’ Internet users in Zambia, including journalists, lamented their inability to keep track of election proceedings, and to go about their work properly without these channels of communication. Access was restored by order of the High Court, following a lawsuit put forward by Chapter One Foundation, a Zambian non-governmental organization, challenging the decision of the Zambian Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) to disrupt Internet connectivity. The ZICTA agreed in March 2022 not to act outside its legal authority to interrupt access to the internet, and to inform the public of the reason for any internet shutdown within 36 hours of implementation in the future.

  Zambia

  • Start 12 August 2021 00:00 UTC
  • End 14 August 2021 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 days

July 2021

• Past

  National shutdown

  WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram

  Thousands of people took to Cuban streets across the country on 11 July 2021, to protest against the government. In response, the government blocked access to messaging apps, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram to disrupt the flow of information, making it hard for citizens and activists to mobilize and communicate with each other. Mobile phones account for over three-quarters of all web traffic in Cuba, with approximately 76 % of traffic within the country generated via mobile devices (Statista). Although access was restored quickly, 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. While the Internet has been available in Cuba for several years, access is controlled by the government, which blocks access to certain websites and requires permits for connections to private homes or businesses. The high cost of fixed line access was prohibitive for most citizens until 2018, when relatively affordable mobile Internet plans became available, opening up access - albeit censored - to millions of people.

  Cuba

  • Start 11 July 2021 20:00 UTC
  • End 11 July 2021 21:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 1 hour
• Past

  National shutdown

  Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours at a time, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 3 July 2021 for the duration of the secondary school exam period, with Cloudflare observing the largest drop in mobile Internet access. Sudan’s public prosecutor ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down mobile Internet connection upon the request of the Ministry of Education. This is the second year that Sudan cut off Internet services to prevent students from leaking exam questions. The shutdown sparked public outcry as banking, health, electronic payment and other services were disrupted during high transaction hours in the Sudanese working day.  

  Sudan

  • Start 3 July 2021 07:30 UTC
  • End 3 July 2021 10:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 hours

June 2021

• Past

  National shutdown

  Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours at a time, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 30 June 2021 for the duration of the secondary school exam period, with Cloudflare observing the largest drop in mobile Internet access. Sudan’s public prosecutor ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down mobile Internet connection upon the request of the Ministry of Education. This is the second year that Sudan cut off Internet services to prevent students from leaking exam questions. The shutdown sparked public outcry as banking, health, electronic payment and other services were disrupted during high transaction hours in the Sudanese working day.  

  Sudan

  • Start 30 June 2021 07:30 UTC
  • End 30 June 2021 10:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 2 hours