New Delhi, February 28, 2023 (PPI-OT):With as many as 84 internet shutdowns last year, India topped the list of countries that ordered internet shutdowns – fifth consecutive year in a row – says a report. The report by Access Now and the KeepItOn coalition, said, the shutdowns were ordered on various accounts including protests, conflict, school exams, and elections. It said, at least 187 internet shutdowns across 35 countries were recorded in 2022. The report said that in 2022, the Internet was shut down 49 times in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This included a string of 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long shutdowns in January and February 2022 in the territory.

It said, authorities in Rajasthan imposed shutdowns on 12 different occasions followed by West Bengal, which ordered shutdowns seven times. As per the report, titled ‘Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022’, since 2016, India has accounted for approximately 58 per cent of all documented shutdowns globally.

“Last year, India shut down the internet more than any other country on earth – 84 times. That’s 84 attacks on fundamental rights across the world’s biggest democracy,” said Raman Jit Singh Chima, senior international counsel and Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now. Access Now and the KeepItOn coalition in their previous report had stated that the authorities imposed 107 internet shutdowns in India in 2021.

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