Curtailing Free Expression, Opinion and Information Online in Southeast Asia in an internet shutdown. This infringes upon not only the rights to free expression and information, but also the rights of assembly, association, education, health, work, livelihood and security.94 Internet shutdowns “stunt the democratic process”, “batter whole economies and individual businesses”, and “drastically disrupt the daily life of ordinary citizens, turning the search for mobile service into a game of cat and mouse with the police and driving people across borders just to send emails for work”.95 Internet shutdowns can also have the effect of concealing human rights violations, especially when they are imposed in areas of violence and conflict.96 Comprehensive internet shutdowns almost never comply with international human rights law. The UN HRC resolution adopted in 2018 “unequivocally condemned measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online in violation of international human rights law” and urged all States “to refrain from and cease such measures”.97 In the 2011 Joint Declaration, the rapporteurs for freedom of expression clarified that States have a positive obligation to ensure universal access to the internet of individuals, which is derived from their obligation to promote and protect the right to freedom of expression.98 They recognized that internet access was crucial for the promotion and protection of other rights, including the rights to assembly, association, free elections, education, health and work, and that denial of an individual’s access to the internet was “a punishment (of) extreme measure, which could be justified only where less restrictive measures are not available and where ordered by a court, taking into account the impact of this measure on the enjoyment of human rights”.99 94 95 96 97 98 99 “Internet shutdowns curtail freedom of expression, cut access to information, and can inhibit people from assembling and associating peacefully, online and off. In addition, during shutdowns, many victims are unable to reach their families, get accurate information to stay safe, or reach emergency services. Shutdowns disrupt businesses, schools, and ordinary lives, often exacting a significant financial cost.” Access Now 2018 report, p2. Patrick Kingsley, ‘Life in an Internet Shutdown: Crossing Borders for Email and Contraband SIM Cards’, New York Times, 2 September 2019 (‘NY Times, 2 September 2019’), Available at: https:// www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/world/africa/internet-shutdown-economy.html?te=1&nl=morningbriefing&emc=edit_MBAE_p_20190902&section=longRead?campaign_id=7&instance_ id=12067&segment_id=16669&user_id=3f72f2845ba8594bb0e4459957511f9b&regi_ id=87913927ion=longRead Access Now 2018 report, pp 13, 14. A/HRC/38/L.10/Rev.1, p5. Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and the Internet, paras 6a, 6e. Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and the Internet, paras 6a, 6c. For example, news reports have detailed how an ongoing shutdown in Kashmir has disrupted crucial communications between doctors, patients, healthcare providers and patients, resulting in preventable deaths, drug shortages and a reduced number of surgeries, with pediatric care and maternity services “among the hardest hit”. See Sameer Yasir, Jeffrey Gettleman, ‘In Kashmir, a Race Against Death, With No Way to Call a Doctor’, New York Times, 7 October 2019, Available at: https://www.nytimes. com/2019/10/07/world/asia/kashmir-doctors-phone.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_ MBAE_p_20191007&section=longRead?campaign_id=7&instance_id=12908&segment_ 35