24 | RISING REPRESSION MEETS GLOBAL RESISTANCE: INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2025 Lithuania On May 9, 2025, Lithuanian authorities implemented a nationwide blocking of VKontakte and Odnoklassniki in line with the 2014 EU Regulation on restrictive measures in connection with Russia's destabilizing actions in Ukraine.125 Similar restrictions have been imposed in other countries, including Ukraine, where both platforms have been blocked since 2017,126 and Latvia, where both platforms have been blocked since 2022.127 Panama On June 20, 2025, the Panamanian government suspended internet and mobile phone access in the province of Bocas del Toro in response to protests against reforms to the Social Security Fund, including changes to the retirement and pension provisions.128 The shutdown was imposed amid a state of emergency and was lifted after nearly two weeks of disruptions. Papua New Guinea On March 24, 2025, authorities in Papua New Guinea shut down Facebook for two days — the country’s most widely used social media platform — citing an increase in “misinformation and pornography.” The shutdown was implemented by the police minister under the National Security (Amendment) Act 2024, legislation that grants the government sweeping powers to monitor and restrict digital communications in the name of combating terrorism and cybercrime.129 The move sparked widespread outrage, with critics arguing that the government used the shutdown to suppress dissent and control public discourse, and to potentially test future shutdowns in the country.130 The timing of the shutdown coincided with the Prime Minister’s scheduled court appearance in an ongoing corruption case, raising questions about the political motivation behind the disruption.131 United States of America On January 18, 2025, the popular messaging app TikTok and other ByteDance apps were suspended in the U.S. under a law signed by former U.S. President Biden and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on national security grounds.132 After a 14-hour blackout, however, service was restored when U.S. President Trump signaled he would delay enforcement of the ban and urged ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S.based entity.133 TikTok has faced similar threats since 2020, with prior bans reversed through executive action.134 Following the January 2025 blackout, enforcement was repeatedly postponed as negotiations advanced for U.S. firms, including Oracle, to assume control of TikTok’s U.S. user data, apps, and algorithms.135 125 Novaya Gazeta (2025). The blocking of VKontakte and Odnoklassniki in Lithuania was delayed for almost six months for some users. https:// novayagazeta.ee/articles/2025/05/09/blokirovka-vkontakte-i-odnoklassnikov-v-litve-dlia-chasti-polzovatelei-zaderzhalas-pochti-na-polgodanews#:~:text=%/. See also EUR-Lex (2014). Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/833/oj/eng/ 126 Human Rights Watch (2017). Ukraine: Revoke Ban on Dozens of Russian Web Companies. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/17/ukraine-revoke-ban-dozens-russian-web-companies. 127 128 Ibid. See supra note 36. IPANDETEC (2025). 129 ABC (2025). PNG's sudden Facebook ban — a government flexing social media control? https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/facebook-png-disrupted-by-tests-to-regulate-hate-speech/105092262/. 130 ABC (2025). Papua New Guinea shuts down Facebook in test to stop ‘pornography, misinformation, hate speech.’ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-25/facebook-shut-down-in-papua-new-guinea-in-test/105092564/. 131 See supra note 129. ABC (2025). 132 NPR (2025). TikTok is offline in the U.S. after Supreme Court upholds ban. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/18/nx-s1-5266146/tiktok-offline-supreme-court-ban/. 133 NPR (2025). TikTok is back online in the U.S., following Trump's promise to pause the ban. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/19/nx-s1-5267568/tiktok-back-online. 134 Washington Post (2021). Biden revokes Trump’s TikTok and WeChat ban order. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/09/tiktok-ban-revoked-biden/. 135 Reuters (2026). TikTok seals deal for new US joint venture to avoid American ban. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tiktok-reaches-deal-new-us-joint-venture-avoid-american-ban-2026-01-23/.