Zeeshan Kaskar 
New Delhi: India imposed 84 internet shutdowns in 2024, only one behind Myanmar, which topped the list of global internet shutdowns. However, among democratic nations, India recorded the highest internet shutdowns in 2024, a report has said.
India held the record for the highest number of internet shutdowns globally for six consecutive years until Myanmar surpassed it in 2024.
The report, titled ‘Emboldened Offenders, Endangered Communities: Internet Shutdowns in 2024’ and based on data compiled by digital rights organisation Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition of civil society organisations, said that 2024 was a record-breaking year for digital blackouts.
This, said Access Now and #KeepItOn, reinforces the idea “that the scourge of internet shutdowns is an unyielding threat to human rights – and human life – around the world”.
Last year was the first time where X was the most blocked platform globally. This coincided “with a period of degradation in content governance on the platform”.
Along with X, Signal and TikTok saw the sharpest percentage increase in blocks as compared to 2023, the organisations stated.
Conflict continues to drive shutdowns; cross-border shutdowns go up
In 2024, Access Now and #KeepItOn recorded 296 internet shutdowns across 54 countries, surpassing the previous record of 283 shutdowns in 39 countries in 2023.
Last year also marked a sharp 35% increase in the number of affected countries when compared to 2022, with seven nations imposing shutdowns for the first time.
The number of shutdowns the report recorded during conflicts. Photo via Access Now and #KeepItOn report.
For the second consecutive year, conflict was the primary driver of internet shutdowns, with authorities expanding their tactics to disrupt connectivity – “from jamming devices and cutting cables, to destroying infrastructure and sabotaging internet service providers”.
Additionally, cross-border shutdowns saw a troubling rise, with 25 such shutdowns imposed by eight entities that impacted people in 13 countries, the report said. These included shutdowns imposed by Russia in Ukraine, Israel in Gaza, and both Thailand and China in Myanmar.
Myanmar’s digital blackouts: a tool of war and repression
Since the military coup in February 2021, Myanmar has witnessed hundreds of internet shutdowns, weaponised to suppress dissent and conceal human rights abuses. In 2024 alone, the authors of the report verified 85 shutdowns, of which “31 coincided with documented grave human rights abuses”.
“The Myanmar junta [military regime] imposed 74 shutdowns, at least 17 of which were correlated with airstrikes on villages with civilians,” the report added.
Myanmar’s internet suppression is not just a domestic crisis – it also has a transnational dimension. China and Thailand imposed six cross-border shutdowns affecting Myanmar, with China responsible for two and Thailand four.
The number of shutdowns recorded during protests and instability. Photo via Access Now and #KeepItOn report.
Armed resistance groups, including the exiled National Unity Government (NUG), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army also enforced digital blackouts in areas under their control.
“In one instance, the junta raided shops that offer Starlink and IP Star. In another, the NUG instructed townships under resistance control to prevent public use of LEO [low earth orbit] satellite internet. These are the first instances of this type of shutdown in our records,” the report stated.
Manipur, Haryana and J&K on top in terms of shutdowns at home
While Myanmar set a grim new standard, India remained the world’s leading democracy in ordering internet shutdowns. In 2024, authorities imposed 84 blackouts across 16 states and territories.
Manipur (21 shutdowns), Haryana (12) and Jammu and Kashmir (12) were the worst-affected regions.
The number of shutdowns related to elections. Photo via Access Now and #KeepItOn report.
“Of the 84, 41 shutdowns were related to protests and 23 were related to communal violence,” the report stated.
In their report released last year on internet shutdowns in 2023, Access Now and #KeepItOn had recorded 116 shutdowns in India.
Internet shutdowns coincided with military action in Gaza
In 2024, Israel imposed six internet shutdowns in Gaza, including one continuous blackout since October 9, 2023 that wiped out 13 local internet service providers – eight of them were never restored.
These blackouts coincided with heavy Israeli military action, “forcing people across Gaza offline, and coinciding with numerous documented atrocities and war crimes, including mass displacement, military targeting of shelters and hospitals, cutting off humanitarian aid and constant bombardments of civilians.”