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 18,604 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
Vietnam 16 February 2020 Unconfirmed National shutdown Government Action Facebook 50 days
India 11 February 2020 Acknowledged Regional shutdown Government Action - 2 days
Iran 8 February 2020 Unconfirmed National shutdown Government Action Internet Services 2 hours
India 6 February 2020 Confirmed Regional shutdown War/Conflict Mobile Internet Services 0 minutes
India 31 January 2020 Confirmed Regional shutdown Government Action - 0 minutes
Yemen 30 January 2020 Unconfirmed National shutdown Government Action Internet Services 27 days
India 27 January 2020 Acknowledged Regional shutdown Government Action - 1 day, 23 hours
India 25 January 2020 Acknowledged Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services 1 day, 23 hours
Togo 22 January 2020 Unconfirmed National shutdown Elections - 22 hours
Iran 14 January 2020 Confirmed Regional shutdown Protests Internet Services 30 minutes
India 4 January 2020 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Internet Services 23 hours
Ethiopia 3 January 2020 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown War/Conflict Internet Services 89 days
India 1 January 2020 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 4 days
Bangladesh 31 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services, SMS 2 days
India 27 December 2019 Acknowledged Regional shutdown Protests - 1 day
India 22 December 2019 Unconfirmed Service blocking Protests Facebook, X (Twitter), WhatsApp 16 hours
India 22 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services 2 days
India 20 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services 1 day
India 19 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 2 days
India 18 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services 5 days, 1 hour
India 15 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services 2 days, 5 hours
India 13 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services, Social Networks, SMS, Instant Messaging, Media Sharing 16 hours
India 12 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services 8 days, 1 hour
India 12 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Government Action Mobile Internet Services, Social Networks, SMS, Instant Messaging, Media Sharing 1 day
India 10 December 2019 Unconfirmed Regional shutdown Protests Mobile Internet Services, SMS 1 day, 23 hours