INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2024 The widespread use of platform blocks The blocking of communications platforms surged in 2024, with 71 blocks in 35 countries, an increase from 53 blocks in 25 countries in 2023 and exceeding the previous record high of 57 blocks in 28 countries in 2019. Authorities imposed this type of shutdown to control the flow of information on popular platforms and target specific populations. There is a misconception that such sh utdowns minimize impacts or represent a more acceptable form of censorship than cutting off the internet entirely, but blocking platforms that are a central means for people and communities to access information and communicate is just as harmful as blanket internet shutdowns. Our records show that new offenders or those that have imposed fewer shutdowns often use platform blocks, and 2024 was no exception. Four of the seven new offenders in 2024 (El Salvador, Malaysia, Mauritius, and France in New Caledonia) imposed platform blocks exclusively, while countries with less frequent shutdowns 13 (Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique) blocked platforms for the first time. These offenders contributed to the significant increase in platform blocks in 2024, as did a group of repeat offenders (Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Tanzania, Türkiye, and Venezuela) that combined shorter-term blocks with new indefinite blocks.50 X was the most blocked platform around the world in 2024, with 24 blocks in 14 countries, the highest number for the platform since 2019, when it was blocked 33 times. TikTok was blocked 10 times in 10 countries in 2024 compared to six times in six countries in 2023, with three countries maintaining active blocks from 2024 into 2025 (India, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan). Finally, of the 52 total platforms blocked in some combination across 71 shutdown instances, Signal saw the highest spike in 2024, with 10 blocks in nine countries (Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Venezuela, and Yemen) compared to two blocks in two countries in 2023 (China, Iran). Every blocking of Signal, with the exception of the two in Bangladesh and one each in Algeria and Yemen, was ongoing into 2025. 50 The total number of platform blocks include ongoing blocks over multiple years, which are counted once for each year they’re in place, as well as blocks that start and end within the same calendar year. See Access Now’s Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP) FAQ, Question #4. https://www.accessnow.org/guide/shutdown-tracker-optimization-project/#faq