The previous decade has witnessed an exponential increase in internet shutdowns in India with a total count of 690, out of which 110 had been implemented in the year 2021. The year 2022 has seen 75 shutdowns till the publication of this report. The negative impact of the same cannot be measured in monetary terms alone, but through focusing on the flagrant infringement of fundamental rights, along with restricted access to essential services, bringing the lives of millions across the nation to a virtual standstill. In order to combat the lacuna of awareness on the rampant misuse of internet shutdowns in India, SFLC.in has published a detailed report attempting to fully understand their frequency, extent and impact in India. This scoping and assessment exercise analyzes various patterns and trends behind the imposition of these shutdowns, studies the legal mechanism and policy outlook adopted, maps the stakeholders involved and assesses the impact of the same.

The report is heavily based upon the Internet Shutdowns tracker maintained by SFLC which documents every single internet shutdown that has taken place pan-India since 2012, notably the only real-time database of its kind in the country. The methodology behind the tracker forms the basis of the empirical sources of the report, tracking the duration, impacted region, nature of the shutdown (whether preventive or reactive), nature of the services suspended, as well as the reasons for which the shutdown has been imposed, as per the orders of the Government. Wherever sufficient information has not been made available in the public domain, SFLC.in has robustly filed requests under the Right to Information Act and gathered data upon response to these requests.

Moreover the report analyzes the impact of internet shutdowns from a human rights and economical perspective, and how they affect the access to basic essential services, such education and healthcare. According to studies, India has suffered a loss of $174.6 million in the year 2022 alone, due to internet shutdowns, with long-term shutdowns leading to drastic impacts on the livelihood of people, directly contributing to the loss of employment. It brings to light the indiscriminate detriment caused to minority and underprivileged groups and their increased vunerabilty due to the hapazard use of Kill Switch.

The report also dives into the legislative framework behind the imposition of internet shutdowns and the interwoven web of applicable legislations and procedures prescribed for their regulation. It also extensively covers the judicial precedents and policy developments in the regulation of internet shutdowns, in India and across the world. Lastly, in order to accurately assess the role which each societal stakeholder which affects, and gets affected in the chain of causality during an internet shutdown, the report dissects each stakeholder group and maps the extent and intensity of the impact suffered by them due to an internet shutdown.

The report can be accessed here

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The report is prepared by Accessnow and #Keepiton coalition. It has recorded 182 internet shutdowns over 34 countries. It analyses the causes of shutdowns, the trends around the world and impacts on human rights.

The report cover the economic impact of internet shutdowns across the world. It analyzes every major intentional internet shutdown in 2021 and reveals that they cost a world economy still suffering under a pandemic a further $5.5 billion.

A report on "Understanding India’s Troubling Rise in Internet Shutdowns: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis" authored by Dr. Kris Ruijgrok, a Dutch political analyst at the University of Amsterdam, found that India experienced the highest internet shutdown count in the world at 115. However, the report found that such shutdowns were not uniformly experienced across the country, noting that likelihood of internet shutdowns in states ruled by a certain political dispensation currently having majority at the Centre is more than 250% higher than states not governed by said dispensation. The report further notes that such likelihood of internet shutdowns on a district-basis is 3% in states ruled by the said dispensation during any given month as opposed to only 0.8 percent in states not ruled by said dispensation. Even excluding the case of Jammu and Kashmir, the probability in districts of states governed by said dispensation remained as high as 1.7 percent as opposed to only 0.4 percent for districts not governed by said dispensation. To know about the political dispensation the report is referring to, click on "Read more"

SFLC.in provided research assistance to Dr. Ruijgrok in preparing this report. 

India reported the highest number or recorded Internet shutdowns last year, at 109 out of a total of 155 globally. This is the third consecutive year India has topped the global charts on this score, a new report by digital rights and privacy organisation Access Now has found. India was followed by Yemen with at least six shutdowns, Ethiopia with four, and Jordan three. India, Yemen, and Ethiopia had been among the worst disruptors of the internet in 2019, the report said. From Belarus to Bangladesh, authorities in 29 countries shut down or interfered with the internet at least 155 times in 2020, the report, "Shattered dreams and lost opportunities: A year in the fight to #KeepItOn," found. 

Read the 2020 Access Now Report at https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/2021/03/KeepItOn-report-on-the-2020-data_Mar-2021_3.pdf 

India has topped the list of restricting internet access to citizens more than any other country – over 75 times in 2020, which cost the economy $2.8 billion, says an annual report by Top10VPN, a UK-based digital privacy and security research group. Read the 2020 Top10VPN report at https://www.top10vpn.com/cost-of-internet-shutdowns/ 

Consolidated listing of all shutdowns in India recorded by SFLC.IN from 2012 till date for multiple reasons. This compilation(pdf) provides a list of these shutdowns alongwith the reasons assigned to the same.

Link - https://netblocks.org/projects/cost