Internet Shutdowns
Who Shuts Down the Internet the Most?
Based on 947 shutdowns we've tracked since 2018
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438 -
167 -
73 -
47 -
18 -
17 -
17 -
14 -
11 -
10
- Africa
- Americas
- Asia
- Europe
- Oceania
Ongoing
13
ongoing shutdowns around the world
105
Internet shutdowns around the world since June 2025
14
countries have experienced a total or partial Internet shutdown since June 2025
30,232 hours
of Internet access have been lost by the the world’s population since June 2025, due to intentional disruptions.
Shutdowns
June 2021
947 shutdowns
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Past
National shutdown
Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours at a time, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 21 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
- End
- Total Duration 2 hours
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Past
National shutdown
Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours at a time, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 20 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
- End
- Total Duration 2 hours
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Past
National shutdown
The shutdown affected all Leased Lines and ADSL customers. The Ministry of Education announced the shutdown ahead of time, and state-owned operator Syrian Telecom issued a notice that Internet service will be cut from 31 May to 22 June 2021, between 04:00 to 08:30 local time (UTC+3), noting that this may be extended until 10:30. The Syrian government has unplugged the Internet every year during student exams since 2016, after exam questions began appearing on social media. Yet there is growing evidence that shutdowns are an ineffective way to prevent cheating, as questions still get leaked in spite of an Internet blackout.
Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 0 minutes
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Past
National shutdown
Internet services were interrupted for 3 hours, from 08:00 to 11:00 local time (UTC +2) on 19 June 2021, for the secondary school exams. Cloudflare observed the largest drop in mobile Internet access. Sudan’s public prosecutor ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down mobile Internet connections upon the request of the Ministry of Education. This is the second year Sudan has 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 on Sudanese working days.
Sudan
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 2 hours
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Past
National shutdown
The shutdown affected all Leased Lines and ADSL customers. The Ministry of Education announced the shutdown ahead of time, and state-owned operator Syrian Telecom issued a notice that Internet service will be cut from 31 May to 22 June 2021, between 04:00 to 08:30 local time (UTC+3), noting that this may be extended until 10:30. The Syrian government has unplugged the Internet every year during student exams since 2016, after exam questions began appearing on social media. Yet there is growing evidence that shutdowns are an ineffective way to prevent cheating, as questions still get leaked in spite of an Internet blackout.
Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 0 minutes
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Past
National shutdown
The shutdown affected all Leased Lines and ADSL customers. The Ministry of Education announced the shutdown ahead of time, and state-owned operator Syrian Telecom issued a notice that Internet service will be cut from 31 May to 22 June 2021, between 04:00 to 08:30 local time (UTC+3), noting that this may be extended until 10:30. The Syrian government has unplugged the Internet every year during student exams since 2016, after exam questions began appearing on social media. Yet there is growing evidence that shutdowns are an ineffective way to prevent cheating, as questions still get leaked in spite of an Internet blackout.
Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 0 minutes
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Past
National shutdown
The shutdown affected all Leased Lines and ADSL customers. The Ministry of Education announced the shutdown ahead of time, and state-owned operator Syrian Telecom issued a notice that Internet service will be cut from 31 May to 22 June 2021, between 04:00 to 08:30 local time (UTC+3), noting that this may be extended until 10:30. The Syrian government has unplugged the Internet every year during student exams since 2016, after exam questions began appearing on social media. Yet there is growing evidence that shutdowns are an ineffective way to prevent cheating, as questions still get leaked in spite of an Internet blackout.
Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 0 minutes
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Past
National shutdown
The shutdown affected all Leased Lines and ADSL customers. The Ministry of Education announced the shutdown ahead of time, and state-owned operator Syrian Telecom issued a notice that Internet service will be cut from 31 May to 22 June 2021, between 04:00 to 08:30 local time (UTC+3), noting that this may be extended until 10:30. The Syrian government has unplugged the Internet every year during student exams since 2016, after exam questions began appearing on social media. Yet there is growing evidence that shutdowns are an ineffective way to prevent cheating, as questions still get leaked in spite of an Internet blackout.
Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 0 minutes
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Past
National shutdown
The shutdown affected all Leased Lines and ADSL customers. The Ministry of Education announced the shutdown ahead of time, and state-owned operator Syrian Telecom issued a notice that Internet service will be cut from 31 May to 22 June 2021, between 04:00 to 08:30 local time (UTC+3), noting that this may be extended until 10:30. The Syrian government has unplugged the Internet every year during student exams since 2016, after exam questions began appearing on social media. Yet there is growing evidence that shutdowns are an ineffective way to prevent cheating, as questions still get leaked in spite of an Internet blackout.
Syria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 0 minutes
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Past
Service blocking
Twitter
From June 4, 2021 to January 13, 2022, the Nigerian government officially banned Twitter. The ban occurred after Twitter deleted tweets made by the Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari. The ban was lifted in January 2022 after Twitter agreed to "establish an office in the country, pay taxes there, appoint a representative and 'act with a respectful acknowledgment of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history.'"
Nigeria
- Start
- End
- Total Duration 223 days
- Page 55 of 95