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.

  • Total Duration 3 hours

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Population
24,672,760

Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free

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Local impact

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.

Related documentation

Screenshot of announcement made by Syrian Telekom.

The above announcement by Syrian Telekom (via Facebook) notes that shutdowns will occur daily from 26 May to 13 June and are being implemented at the request of the Ministry of Education.

Other supporting information

Cloudflare Radar and IODA recorded drops in Internet traffic and Google Search usage on 12 June 2024 from 3:00 UTC (6:00 local time) to 6:00 UTC (9:00 local time).