Conflicts trigger globe’s highest rate of internet shutdowns in 2024: NGO

Governments around the world oversaw a record-breaking year for internet shutdowns in 2024, a new report on “digital violence” suggests.

There were 296 internet shutdowns documented across 54 countries last year, surpassing the 283 shutdowns in 39 countries in 2023, says the report by Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition, published on Monday.

According to the report, conflict remained the main reason behind internet shutdowns for a second consecutive year, with perpetrators using strategies ranging from severing cables and jamming devices to destroying infrastructure and sabotaging service providers.

Myanmar led the global list of offenders with 85 internet shutdowns. The military government primarily ordered the outages to “a population that resisted its dictatorship four years after the coup,” according to Access Now.

Cross-border shutdowns saw a sharp rise. These included shutdowns carried out by Russia in Ukraine, Israel in Gaza, and Thailand and China in Myanmar.

India dropped from the top in 2023 to second place, with 84 shutdowns. Pakistan recorded 21 shutdowns, its highest-ever total.

Israeli ‘ digital violence ‘ in MENA region

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region saw 41 internet shutdowns across 17 countries in 2024, down from 77 in 2023. However, the number of affected countries increased from 15 to 17.

Authorities in 10 MENA countries implemented 18 platform blocks in 2024 as a method of information control, the report said, while armed conflicts drove 12 internet shutdowns, endangering civilians ‘ safety.

In spite of international criticism, Israel “systematically shut down” connectivity and destroyed telecommunication infrastructure during its war against Gaza, according to the report.

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) used weapons to obstruct millions of people’s access to essential services in Sudan during the ongoing conflict.

The year also saw cyberattacks from the Anonymous Sudan hacker group causing shutdowns in Bahrain, Chad, and Israel, while Mauritania enacted the region’s first election-related shutdown since 2021.