Government Internet Shutdowns Cost $7.69B in 2024 1/24/25, 11:17 AM 2024 was the third year in a row where this was the prime cause for the internet shutdowns with biggest economic impact. DETAILS OF INDIVIDUAL INTERNET SHUTDOWNS: Download the Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2024 Data Sheet for details of each individual shutdown. For each disruption, there’s dates, any local regions affected, a cost breakdown, the type of outage it was, which platforms were blocked, how many people were affected, and the reason for the shutdown. Note that while we state that there were 167 shutdowns in 2024, there are more entries than that. This is because we often have to break down a disruption into multiple parts in order to properly calculate its cost. How Do Governments Shut Down The Internet? Government internet outages typically take the form of total internet blackouts or social media blocks. Another censorship tactic is internet throttling, where internet speeds are restricted so severely that anything beyond simple text-based communication becomes impossible, such as live-streaming video of protests or human rights abuses. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use a number of methods to implement restrictions following government orders to do so. Some of the most common are below. Network Shutdown The most crude method of blocking access to the internet is when governments force ISPs and mobile carriers to literally power down critical circuits that make up the https://www.top10vpn.com/research/cost-of-internet-shutdowns/ Page 16 of 28