National shutdown
Internet Services
The Syrian government, in a coordinated effort between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Communications and Technology, implemented a nationwide internet shutdown on June 21, 2020. This event marked the beginning of the national exam season for the General Secondary Certificate (Baccalaureate). As documented in the official schedule published by the Ministry of Education.
The shutdown followed a "digital curfew" pattern, primarily targeting mobile data and fixed-line ADSL services to prevent the digital leakage of exam questions. Despite official claims of localized disruptions, telemetry data confirms a total national blackout during the morning hours, affecting millions of users and disrupting essential digital communications during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
- Total Duration 4 hours
Syria
- Population
- 25,620,427
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free
Related documentation
The Syrian government continues its policy of implementing nationwide internet blackouts during the National Secondary Education Certificate exams. For the 2020 cycle, the first disruption occurred on June 21, synchronized with the start of the examination period.
The timing of the shutdown typically begins around 4:00 AM local time (01:00 UTC) to secure the logistics of distributing physical exam papers, followed by a sustained blackout of all internet services—including ADSL and mobile data—until the exam sessions conclude at approximately 8:30 AM local time.
The schedule of the disruptions follows the Scientific and Literary streams schedule published by the Syrian Ministry of Education:
Other supporting information
CAIDA IODA
CAIDA IODA - AS29256
GOOGLE TRANSPARENCY REPORT
