INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2023 In 2023, 27 of the 63 protest-related shutdowns occurred alongside violence, including cases where authorities used shutdowns in attempts to conceal brutality by security forces.62 We documented the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure through air strikes, brutality against protesters, or other atrocities and war crimes during 51 shutdowns in 11 countries around the world (Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Mauritania, Myanmar, Palestine, Russia, Somaliland, Sudan, Ukraine). Internet shutdowns are always an attack on people’s human rights. But when they come without warning during moments of national tension or as part of a deliberate military strategy, they are especially harmful, cutting people off from communications lifelines when they need them most. Out of all our recorded events in 2023, in 93% of cases, the public received no advance notice of an impending shutdown, deepening fear and uncertainty and putting more people in grave danger. Perpetrators using shutdowns to cover up violence and serious human rights abuses was especially prevalent in conflict zones. Under a near-total communications blackout in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, security forces stoked terror and mass displacement through attacks on civilians, ranging from rape, murder of children and families, and destruction of civilian property, to indiscriminate bombing across the region.63 In the Gaza Strip, the Israel military used a combination of direct attacks on civilian telecommunications infrastructure, restrictions on access to electricity, and technical disruptions to shut down the internet64 in the midst of heavy bombardments that indiscriminately killed tens 17 of thousands of civilians.65 In Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), who have been fighting since April 2023, have also wielded shutdowns as a weapon of control alongside rampant targeting of civilians, looting, sexual violence, and one of the most severe displacement crises in the world.66 In Myanmar, shutdowns and phone line disconnects preceded air strikes on residential areas, sometimes implemented with jammers on military aircraft, and usually ordered by local township officials.67 The Russian military continued to target energy infrastructure in Ukraine, which also disrupted internet services, as they bombed residential areas.68 Across many contexts, perpetrators used a variety of tactics to shut down the internet, including blockading of fuel, cyberattacks, and systematic targeting of specific internet service providers (ISPs) of occupied regions, seeking either to inflict harm on the civilian population directly or to conceal atrocities. Regardless of how they are implemented, repeated internet shutdowns in times of conflict exact a human toll that is immense and often incalculable. Authorities must refrain from normalizing platform blocks Governments continued to use communication platform blocks heavily in 2023, imposing or maintaining 53 blocks across 25 countries, up from 39 blocks across 29 countries in 2022. We recorded more service-based blocking orders in India than any other country, with an increase from two platform blocks in 2022 to 14 in 2023 — a resurgence of this tactic after an initial wave of app blocking in 2020.69 Setting India aside, platform blocks were distributed 62 See, e.g., Crisis24 (2023). Mauritania: Protests and clashes possible in areas across country through at least early June following recent death of individual in police custody. https://crisis24.garda.com/alerts/2023/05/mauritania-protests-andclashes-possible-in-areas-across-country-through-at-least-early-june-following-recent-death-of-individual-in-policecustody/; Internet Society Pulse (2023). Internet shutdowns: Mauritania. https://pulse.internetsociety.org/shutdowns/mauritaniablocks-mobile-internet-during-protests/ 63 Addis Standard (2023). News: Rights commission reveals disturbing sexual violence in Amhara conflict, more than 200 cases of rape exposed. https://addisstandard.com/news-rights-commission-reveals-disturbing-sexual-violence-in-amhara-conflictmore-than-200-cases-of-rape-exposed/ 64 Access Now (2023). Palestine unplugged: how Israel disrupts Gaza’s internet. https://www.accessnow.org/publication/ palestine-unplugged/ 65 Al Jazeera (2024). Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000 with no let-up in Israeli bombardment. https://www.aljazeera.com/ news/2024/2/29/gaza-death-toll-surpasses-30000-with-no-let-up-in-israeli-bombardment/ 66 OHCHR (2024). Sudan: Horrific violations and abuses as fighting spreads - report. https://www.ohchr.org/en/pressreleases/2024/02/sudan-horrific-violations-and-abuses-fighting-spreads-report 67 Myanmar Now (2023). Myanmar's military increasing use of signal jammers to foil attacks by anti-regime guerrillas. https:// myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmars-military-increasing-use-of-signal-jammers-to-foil-attacks-by-anti-regime-guerrillas/ 68 Supra note 23. Reuters (2023). 69 TechCrunch (2020). India bans 43 more Chinese apps over cybersecurity concerns. https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/24/ india-bans-another-43-chinese-apps/; The Times of India (2023). Government bans 14 messaging apps used by J&K terrorists. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/government-bans-14-messaging-apps-used-by-jk-terrorists/articleshow/99917838. cms/