--- title: "Governments Shut Down the Internet Hundreds of Times in 2019" description: "According to a new report, the internet was intentionally shut off more than 200 times in 33 countries in 2019, affecting tens of millions of people." date: "2020-02-25" modified: "2020-02-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/governments-shut-down-internet" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "government shutdown" - "internet" - "shutdown" - "the digest" --- # Governments Shut Down the Internet Hundreds of Times in 2019 ![According to a new report, the internet was intentionally shut off more than 200 times in 33 countries in 2019, affecting tens of millions of people.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Fake News According to a [new report]() by digital rights group Access Now, dozens of world governments intentionally shut off the internet more than 200 times last year, affecting tens of millions of people world wide. "This kind of harm may on its face look less damaging from the standpoint of scope," reads the report. "Yet these silenced voices may be absolutely crucial for alerting the public to human rights violations and abuse, and for getting help to those impacted." ## Silencing Critics According to the new report, India had the most shutdowns in 2019: 121 occasions, the majority of which occurred in the disputed Kashmir region. Venezuela, the second on the list, only shut down the internet 12 times. Access Now also found an increasing number of shutdowns were smaller, but targeting specific groups of people. In 2019, there were at least 14 cases of internet providers significantly slowing down the connection, rather than a complete blackout. The idea is to stifle sharing of multimedia, particularly over social media. Most of these cases ended up in a complete blackout eventually. ## Targeted Blackouts The shutdowns often appeared to be responses to public protests, according to the report, which framed them as an overreaching method to stifle dissent. "It seems more and more countries are learning from one another and implementing the nuclear option of internet shutdowns to silence critics, or perpetrate other human rights violations with no oversight," Access Now [told the *BBC*](). **READ MORE:** [What happens when the internet vanishes?]() \[*BBC*\] **More on the internet:** *[In the Face of Climate Change, the Internet Is Unsustainable]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()