Second Exam-Related Internet Shutdown, Iraq

Iraq

4 June, 2023 04:00 - 08:30 (4 hours)

Local Impact

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.

Data and Analysis

IODA measurements show a drop in Internet connectivity in Iraq on 4 June beginning around 1:00 UTC and resuming around 5:30 UTC, similar to the first shutdown on 1 June.

Cloudflare Radar shows a similar outage, along with the first exam-related outage on 1 June.

Conversations

The 2nd scheduled #Internet shutdown in #Iraq intended to prevent cheating on exams started at 0100 UTC.

The shutdowns come after the Iraqi Minister of Communications announced it rejected a request to cut Internet services during the exams.https://t.co/KS6ASfYi67 #KeepItOn pic.twitter.com/DIz2hwDbda

— Cloudflare Radar (@CloudflareRadar) June 4, 2023

Internet Shutdowns

Iraq