Internet Shutdowns on the Rise
Are internet shutdowns becoming more frequent?
In 2023, 283 internet shutdowns in 39 countries were documented.1 In 2020, 155 internet shutdowns were documented across 29 countries.2 The same organization documented 52 shutdowns in 2016 and 20 in 2015.
The justifications for shutdowns range from "protecting" elections, such as the Uganda presidential election early in 2021; coup attempts such as Myanmar's incident; or countering protests such as India's response to nationwide Farmer's protests.
To understand how this occurs, we need to understand how the backbone of the internet works.
The closest the internet has to a core are the roughly 420 submarine fiber-optic cables...this underwater cable highway transforms isolated networks into the global web...When these submarine backbone cables reach shore, they connect to regional and national networks using the Border Gateway Protocol in a process known as peering...These regional and national networks, in turn, peer with lower-level networks, all the way down to the local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that carry the global web down to an individual device...In countries where shutdowns are most common, ISPs are often owned by just a handful of providers including, commonly, the state. But even privately held network owners can be compelled to comply with government orders to restrict access to the web.3
These shutdowns or restrictions through ISPs happen in any number of ways:
Throttling: the slowing of connections, which can be to specific sites and services, or an entire connection within a region that the network owner controls.
IP Blocking: the targeting and blocking of specific addresses (often specific platforms) by the ISPs.
Mobile Data Shutoff: A shutdown of mobile data services, particularly in countries with limited access to full sized computers but more reliance on smartphones.
DNS Interference: Where IP blocking blocks addresses, DNS interference "blocks" domains, though the process is different. Domain names identify one or more IP addresses, so IP blocking is similar to cutting off the room to a building, DNS interference is like cutting off access to the entire building.
Server Name Identification Blocking: Since switching to HTTPS, connections are encrypted between devices and servers. As a result, network owners intervene as soon as a server name identification request is submitted (before the connection can be made).
Deep Packet Inspection: When information is transmitted over the web, it is sent in packets. Typically only the packets with origin, destination, and other metadata used for routing are used by networks. The analogy would be with mail – the mailman does not open your mail and only operates based off of the address and return address. When DPI is used, however, the mailman is opening your mail and possibly altering what is inside (the content).
"KeepItOn: Fighting Internet Shutdowns Around the World". Access Now. https://www.accessnow.org/issue/internet-shutdowns/. 2024.
"Keep it On". AccessNow. https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/2021/03/KeepItOn-report-on-the-2020-data_Mar-2021_3.pdf. 2021.
"Shutdown". Jigsaw Google. https://jigsaw.google.com/the-current/shutdown/#countermeasures. 2021.