Internet Shutdowns

• Past

  National shutdown

  Iraq has again experienced an exam-related Internet shutdown, the fifth such scheduled shutdown by the government since 1 June 2023. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country’s economy and society and are in our opinion NOT the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 11 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 11 June 2023 08:30 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  National shutdown

  Iraq has again experienced an exam-related Internet shutdown, the fourth such scheduled shutdown by the government since 1 June 2023. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country’s economy and society and are in our opinion NOT the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 8 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 8 June 2023 08:30 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Kolhapur

  The Internet in Kolhapur was suspended amid unrest and protests in the city on 7 June 2023. It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions to maintain public order.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 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 7 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 0 minutes
• Past

  National shutdown

  Iraq has again experienced an exam-related Internet shutdown, the third such scheduled shut down by the government since 1 June 2023. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country's economy and society, and are in our opinion NOT the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 6 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 6 June 2023 08:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  National shutdown

  Iraq has again experienced its second government-scheduled exam-related Internet shutdown since 1 June 2023. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country's economy and society, and are in our opinion NOT the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 4 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 4 June 2023 08:30 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  National shutdown

  Despite positive comments from the Iraq Ministry of Communication that they would consider not shutting down the Internet to prevent cheating during academic exams in Iraq, the government did go ahead and shut down the Internet for a four-hour period. Measurements from Cloudflare, IODA, and OONI all document this shutdown. As we have repeatedly written about here on Pulse, Internet shutdowns cause great harm to a country's economy and society, and are in our opinion NOT the appropriate mechanism to cope with potential exam cheating.

  Iraq

  • Start 1 June 2023 04:00 UTC
  • End 1 June 2023 08:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 4 hours
• Past

  Service blocking

  Instant Messaging, Social Networks

  Amidst public demonstrations over the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to jail, the government of Senegal blocked access to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as to instant messaging services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger. Analysis from the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) is that ISPs are blocking sites and services by timing out TLS handshakes. Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the protocol used to make secure connections (ex. "https") to websites and services. TLS connections begin with a "handshake" between the two sites where they set up the encryption mechanism. ISPs are apparently interfering with this handshake process so that a connection cannot be established. The Internet Society Senegal Chapter published a brief statement. An English translation is:

  Senegal

  • Start 1 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 7 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 6 days

May 2023

• Past

  National shutdown

  The government of Mauritania shut down mobile Internet access on Wednesday, 1 June, after protests erupted around the country after the death of a young man, Omar Diop, in police custody. Fixed-lined connectivity continues to be available. Press reports indicate that this outage may go on for a couple of days, but we have not yet identified an official government statement.

  Mauritania

  • Start 31 May 2023 12:00 UTC
  • End 7 June 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 6 days, 12 hours
• Past

  Regional shutdown

  Uttar Pradesh

  Internet services were suspended in Uttar Pradesh district on 29 May 2023.It is believed to be imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, which allows the government to impose curfews and other restrictions in order to maintain public order.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 29 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 29 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 0 minutes
• Past

  Service blocking

  Messaging (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram), Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat)

  Beginning on Thursday, 17 May 2023, there were many reports of blockage of some social media sites and messaging services during a period of large protests by opposition parties against the ruling junta government. The government of Guinea has denied any blocking, but press organizations in Guinea noted their lack of access. Measurements by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) showed issues connecting to specific social media sites and messaging services. On 22 May 2023, analysis by OONI indicated that this blocking seems to be happening by interference with Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections. Further measurements from OONI showed that most of the affected messaging services began having connectivity restored beginning around 23 May, with the last, Signal, have connectivity restored by 30 May. 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.    

  Guinea

  • Start 17 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • End 30 May 2023 00:00 UTC
  • Total Duration 13 days