INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2023 The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis People in the Nagorno-Karabakh region had already been suffering under a worsening humanitarian crisis since December 2022, when Azerbaijani troops blockaded the Lachin corridor, completely cutting off the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to 199 Armenia. UN experts raised the alarm, emphasizing that the blockade had resulted in “acute shortages of food staples, medication, and hygiene products, impacted the functioning of medical and educational institutions, and placed the lives of the residents — especially children, persons with disabilities, older persons, pregnant women, and the sick — at significant risk.”200 On January 12, 2023, after more than a month of the blockade, an internet disruption only made the situation more dire, raising concerns that people would be unable to contact emergency services and underscoring the importance of ensuring connectivity during crisis and conflict.201 39 On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched its so-called “anti-terrorist” operation, attacking Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and retaking control of the territory. At least 200 people, including civilians and children, were reportedly killed, and over 400 others were wounded.202 The offensive resulted in almost all ethnic Armenians — a population of about 120,000 — fleeing NagornoKarabakh.203 As Azerbaijan started its offensive, authorities throttled internet access in Karabakh’s Fuzuli district and cut access to TikTok for the entire country, both to restrict the flow of information.204 Both disruptions lasted for more than a month.205 On September 20, Azerbaijani authorities also cut off mobile and internet access in Stepanakert City amid heavy bombardment.206 Karabakh residents reported disruptions in several other districts, which we were unable to conclusively confirm.207 Both parties in the conflict have used platform blocking in attempts to control the narrative. Alarmingly, they have also defended the use of internet shutdowns during conflict. In September 2022, Azerbaijan and Armenia each blocked TikTok.208 When civil society challenged Armenia’s TikTok ban, the chief of staff at the National Security Service Director’s office defended the government’s actions, claiming that a legal provision granting the power to “oversee information security matters” 199 See Human Rights Watch (2024). New Wave of Arrests Targets Journalists and Activists in Azerbaijan. https://www.hrw. org/news/2024/03/07/new-wave-arrests-targets-journalists-and-activists-azerbaijan; Crisis Group (2023). Responding to the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh. https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagornokarabakh-conflict/responding-humanitarian-catastrophe-nagorno 200 OHCHR (2023). UN experts urge Azerbaijan to lift Lachin corridor blockade and end humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/un-experts-urge-azerbaijan-lift-lachincorridor-blockade-and-end; see also Forbes (2023). Lachin Corridor Blockade Starves Nagorno-Karabakh. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2023/08/08/lachin-corridor-blockade-starves-nagorno-karabakh/ 201 Radio Azatutyun (2023). The almost complete failure of internet and telephone creates new problems in Karabakh. https:// rus.azatutyun.am/a/32222107.html 202 CNN (2023). Azerbaijan launches operations against Armenian forces in Nagorno- Karabakh. https://edition.cnn. com/2023/09/19/asia/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-bombardment-intl/index.html 203 The Guardian (2023). Almost all ethnic Armenians have left Nagorno-Karabakh. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ sep/30/almost-all-ethnic-armenians-have-left-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan 204 Al Jazeera (2023). Azerbaijan forces attack Nagorno-Karabakh as threat of new war looms. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/19/azerbaijan-forces-attack-nagorno-karabakh-as-threat-of-new-war-looms; AIW (2023). Internet disruptions in Fuzuli. https://www.az-netwatch.org/news/internet-disruptions-in-fuzuli/; OONI Explorer (2023). Azerbaijan blocked TikTok and Google Play Store amid military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. https://explorer.ooni.org/ findings/67768606801 205 Ibid. 206 CNN (2023). Azerbaijan launches operations against Armenian forces in Nagorno- Karabakh. https://edition.cnn. com/2023/09/19/asia/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-bombardment-intl/index.html; https://explorer.ooni.org/ findings/67768606801; see also, CNN (2023). ‘We are starving to death:' Inside Nagorno-Karabakh's blockade on the edge of Europe. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/06/europe/nagorno-karabakh-blockade-azerbaijan-armenia-intl-cmd/index.html 207 Supra note 204. AIW (2023). 208 OONI (2022). Azerbaijan and Armenian block TikTok amid border clashes. https://ooni.org/post/2022-azerbaijan-andarmenia-blocks-tiktok/; see also Turan.az (2020). https://turan.az/en/question-answer/the-issue-of-blocking-the-internetshould-be-reviewed-in-the-interests-of-the-country-2089770