Study reveals top reasons for internet shutdowns in 2023
Governments around the world are persistently exploring various ways by which to restrict internet access or control the use of social media platforms during decisive national moments.
Internet shutdowns have been a concerning global issue, with various countries implementing them for different reasons, such as political unrest, national security, or to control the spread of misinformation.
A study conducted by the digital privacy group Top10vpn has established some of the top six reasons for which governments around the world restricted internet access and other social media platforms in 2023.
Key reasons included exams, political protests, information control, conflicts, military coups, and election interference, in order of prevalence from the most common to the least. These were prevalent in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, South America, and North America.
For instance, in Ethiopia, “access to Facebook, YouTube, Telegram and TikTok was restricted by authorities…due to religious tensions. The blocks were implemented in early February and would not be lifted until over five months later in July. Demand for VPN services peaked at 3,651% higher than average following the start of the restrictions. Ethiopian authorities imposed an internet blackout in the northern region of Amhara in early August in response to escalating tensions with the local militia,” the report read in part.
The report further indicates that “Internet access in Gabon was initially cut as authorities sought to limit the coverage of presidential elections in late August; however, the internet blackout continued as the military subsequently carried out a coup. Internet access was restored after four days.”
In Europe, the dominant reason why governments restricted internet access was reported to be conflicts. In contrast, in sub-Saharan Africa, the reasons ranged from conflicts to exams, protests, and information control.
“The Russian ban on Instagram, Facebook and X (Twitter) was first implemented in February 2022 and continued into 2023. Although we stopped including the economic impact of these restrictions in our calculations after February 2023, a year after they were first put into place, this shutdown remained the most expensive one across the world, costing over $4 billion in 2023 alone,” the report reads.
The report further indicated that in Asia, conflicts, exams, information control, protests and military coups accounted for internet shutdowns on the continent. Middle East and North Africa had predominantly protests, exams and information controls. In South America, the report noted only information control while North America had no reasons at all.
Russia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Iran, Myanmar, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Algeria, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Guinea, Brazil, Mauritania, Yemen, Venezuela, Syria, Turkey, Gabon, Tanzania, and Cuba experienced internet shutdowns within the reasons stated.
