INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2023 By nearly every measure, 2023 is the worst year of internet shutdowns ever recorded — highlighting an alarming and dangerous trend for human rights. From Senegal to Ethiopia, Nepal to India, Israel to Russia, governments continued to shut down the internet and critical digital communication platforms to muzzle expression, block access to life-saving information, and cover up heinous crimes against humanity. Despite the increasing momentum gathering globally against the use of internet shutdowns and key examples of past offenders charting a new course, shutdowns are continuing to emerge as the go-to tool for both democratic and authoritarian regimes to suppress fundamental human rights. In 2023, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented 283 shutdowns in 39 countries. These are staggering results, marking the highest number of shutdown incidents in a single year since we began our monitoring in 2016.3 This reflects an additional 82 shutdowns, or a 41% increase, from 2022, when we recorded 201 shutdowns in 40 countries.4 It is also a 28% increase from 2019, which was the previous record high with 221 shutdowns.5 Governments, militaries, and other authorities doubled down on internet shutdowns as a weapon of control during critical national moments or crises in 2023. Protests, school exams, and elections all remained notable triggers, with 63 protest-related shutdowns nearly reaching the previous high of 65 cases from 2019. We are monitoring these cases closely in 2024, as protest activities continue to rebuild after 9 the COVID-19 outbreak and emerge on new fronts,6 and elections are underway for nearly half the world’s population.7 Importantly, conflicts emerged for the first time as the leading driver of internet shutdowns in 2023, and shutdowns intersecting with natural disasters surfaced as a concerning new trend. As people struggle without access to essential platforms and services amid conflict, humanitarian disasters, and other moments of upheaval, the impact of internet shutdowns is becoming more and more devastating and increasingly an issue of life and death. More militaries are using shutdowns as part of a deliberate strategy to cut populations off from the world, either as a precursor to atrocities and violence against civilians or as part of a continuous, systematic dismantling of civilian infrastructure.8 Likewise, the weaponization of internet shutdowns during active conflict has resulted in compounding humanitarian crises.9 In conflict zones and beyond, 2023 is the most violent year of shutdowns on record, with 173 shutdowns corresponding to acts of violence — a 26% increase from 2022. This trend has been increasing at an alarming rate year over year. In 2023, people in four countries were impacted by shutdowns for the first time — a resurgence of the spread of internet shutdowns globally after an alltime low of two new offenders emerged in 2022. We are also seeing significant global shifts away from highly localized shutdowns toward disruptions impacting wider geographies, including the highestever number of multi-regional or nationwide blocks (80), leaving millions in the dark. Israel and Russia are also driving the growing number of internet shutdowns imposed from outside the impacted territory, wielded as a weapon of war or mechanism for disrupting the free flow of information, in Gaza and 3 As we disclose in our note on data at the beginning of this report, in 2023 we added information on shutdowns that were not previously recorded in our data set, including platform blocks. Figures throughout this report represent our most up-to-date information at the time of publication. Access Now (2024). The Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP) dataset. https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton-data 4 Supra note 1. Access Now (2023). 5 Supra note 1. Access Now (2020). 6 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2023). Protests in 2023: Widespread Citizen Anger Continues, With Sources Multiplying. https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/12/18/protests-in-2023-widespread-citizen-anger-continues-with-sourcesmultiplying-pub-91256/ 7 Access Now (2024). 2024 elections and internet shutdown watch. https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/2024-elections-andinternet-shutdowns-watch/ 8 See, e.g., The Irrawaddy (2023). Blockade of Myanmar's Rakhine State Leaves Residents Increasingly Desperate And Isolated. See, e.g., https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/blockade-of-myanmars-rakhine-state-leaves-residents-increasingly-desperateand-isolated.html 9 See, e.g., Access Now (2024). The Sudan conflict: how internet shutdowns deepen a humanitarian crisis. https://www.accessnow.org/the-sudan-conflict-how-internet-shutdowns-deepen-a-humanitarian-crisis/