9
INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2024
16 shutdowns in 7 countries to
“prevent exam cheating”
In 2024, we recorded 16 exam-related shutdowns in
seven countries (Algeria, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya,
Mauritania, and Syria), the highest annual total for
this type of shutdown in our records. Authorities
in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
were the lead perpetrators globally,27 accounting
for 10 such shutdowns across five countries,
despite repeated calls for #NoExamShutdown.28
Iraqi authorities imposed recurring two-hour
long shutdowns during five exam periods
across the country. Jordan blocked access
to messaging apps during the 2024 Tawjihi
exams, backsliding after a year of reprieve in 2023.29
Elsewhere, Kenya once again blocked Telegram for
three weeks in November during national secondary
school exams,30 and India matched their 2018 record,
imposing five exam-related shutdowns during
government job placement exams.31 There were
also promising developments, however. Iran32 and
Sudan33 refrained from exam-related shutdowns in
2024, despite their past history of imposing such
shutdowns.34 Notably, the ongoing conflict in Sudan
prevented the majority of high school students —
Algeria, Jordan, Kenya, India, Iraq,
Mauritania, and Syria
estimated at 400,000 in 202435 — from taking exams
in the first place, as the journey to examination centers
posed serious safety risks.
27 Access Now (2024). Why #NoExamShutdown should be every country’s class motto. https://www.accessnow.org/why-noexamshutdownshould-be-the-motto/
28
29
Access Now (2023). #NoExamShutdown campaign page. https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/no-exam-shutdown/
See supra note 27. Access Now (2024).
30 Access Now (2024). #KeepItOn: authorities in Kenya must restore access to Telegram and protect people’s rights. https://www.accessnow.
org/press-release/authorities-in-kenya-must-restore-access-to-telegram/
31 Internet Society (2024). Internet shutdowns. https://pulse.internetsociety.org/shutdowns/internet-services-suspended-in-jharkhand-india21-september-2024
32
See supra note 27. Access Now (2024).
34
Cloudflare (2021). Sudan's exam-related Internet shutdowns. https://blog.cloudflare.com/sudans-exam-related-internet-shutdowns/
33 Ministry of Culture and Information (2024) on X. https://x.com/gov_moci/
status/1872894493499719776?t=J3Ih4KMyL5C6X2GdBORn7w&s=19
35
Sudan Tribune (2024). 400,000 Sudanese students miss high school exams due to conflict. https://sudantribune.com/article295760/