SHRINKING DEMOCRACY, GROWING VIOLENCE 50 V. Fighting back in 2023: growth, support, solidarity, and resilience With governments increasingly wielding internet shutdowns during active conflict to cover up heinous crimes against humanity, silence their critics, and marginalize and oppress people, the fight against internet shutdowns is more important than ever. Through collaboration, solidarity, awareness raising, and resilience to authoritarian regimes, the #KeepItOn coalition continues to fight internet shutdowns across all corners of the world. With a membership of over 334 organizations across at least 106 countries worldwide, our movement to push back against internet shutdowns and digital repression keeps growing stronger. The coalition is made up of a diverse community of advocates and experts, working together to prevent, document, and circumvent shutdowns, and to hold perpetrators to account. In particular, our relationship with the internet shutdowns measurement community — which provides technical evidence on disruptions — has expanded, enabling us to more rapidly detect, verify, gather evidence, and report on shutdowns happening around the world. We also made important strides in our efforts to galvanize support from governments, private companies, grassroots groups, academia, and the international community. All these efforts by diverse actors continue to demonstrate the importance of collaboration and coordination at the core of the growth of the #KeepItOn campaign. The following are just some examples of areas where we advanced our collective efforts in 2023: #KeepItOn Election Watch Since its launch in 2016, the #KeepItOn coalition has actively monitored high-risk elections. In 2023, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition identified 18 countries at risk and mobilized three governments to make proactive commitments to ensure unhindered access to internet and telecommunications services during elections.292 We also galvanized support from the 39 governments in the Freedom Online Coalition, which issued a statement denouncing election shutdowns and urging governments to stop imposing them.293 Together with partners, we are continuing to monitor elections for shutdowns in 2024, a super election year.294 Campaigns #NoExamShutdown In 2023, we launched a dedicated campaign jointly with our partners SMEX and the Internet Society to increase momentum in advocating against exam-related shutdowns, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa region.295 Through the #NoExamShutdown campaign, we seek to mobilize efforts to prevent such shutdowns, and to effectively engage with governments to find alternative, rightsrespecting solutions to prevent exam cheating.296 Shutdown Impact Stories Project The impact of internet shutdowns on people and communities is unquantifiable. Through this project we continue to amplify the voices of victims and document the dangers of shutdowns and the repercussions for people’s health and safety, education, and business. Over the years, we have gathered stories from around the world, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iran, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.297 292 Supra note 13. Access Now (2023). 293 Supra note 15. 294 Supra note 7. 295 Supra note 51. 296 Supra note 271. 297 Access Now (2024). Shutdown Stories Archives. https://www.accessnow.org/tag/shutdown-stories/