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Internet Shutdowns

Pakistan

17 December, 2023 17:30 - 18 December, 2023 04:00 (10 hours)

 
Local Impact

Reports from Pakistan indicate a service-blocking event happened on 17 December from 17:30 local time to the early hours of 18 December. According to one report, the shutdown happened before an online rally by supporters of former president, Imran Khan, that happened from 21:00 local time. So far government authorities have not yet provided a statement.

Measurements by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) showed issues connecting to specific social media and video-sharing sites.

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.

 

 

 

Experiences

This is not just a disruption of services but an alarming encroachment on our democratic freedoms and social liberties. — Digital Advocate

Data and Analysis

OONI’s Web Connectivity Test measurements indicate connection issues to communication tools, cultural, media sharing (video), and social media sites and services, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), TikTok, and YouTube.

OONI MAT matrix showing anomalies in traffic to different web services
Chart: Source: OONI Web Connectivity Testing for websites and services in Pakistan from 15 to 18 December 2023. Source: OONI MAT

Regarding the latter service, Google’s Transparency Report for Pakistan shows a distinct drop in YouTube traffic for Pakistan on 17 December 2023, from 17:30 local time and not resuming normal service until 18 December 2023 around 4:00 local time.

Graph showing internet traffic to YouTube via Pakistan
Chart: Google Transparency Report showing traffic to YouTube in Pakistan decreasing on 17 December 2023, from 17:30 local time. Source: Google Transparency Report.

IODA’s Internet Connectivity test for Pakistan shows a similar pattern for YouTube traffic (blue line). Importantly, it also shows there has not been any change in BGP activity (green line), which would indicate an outage or shutdown of all Internet connectivity.

Graph showing Internet Traffic to YouTube via Pakistan
Chart: Internet Connectivity for Pakistan from 13 to 18 December. Source: IODA
Conversations

Shutdown Type
Service Blocking
Affected Services
Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube
In the News

Social media platforms in Pakistan, Internet shutdown… What’s the bottom line? — ProIQRA

Pakistan shuts down access to X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube — Asian News Network