It is common for the government to disable Internet service in a particular area during critical moments such as protests and for some security concerns. India tops in the list of countries that have shut down the Internet service.
The chart, based on data from obtained on statista.com, shows that in 2018, Internet service was disconnected 134 times in India alone and 12 times in neighbouring Pakistan. This infographic chart revolves around social networking sites.
Forbes reported 2 years ago that “Access Now data shows that Internet service has been disabled 154 times in India between January 2016 and May 2018, followed by Pakistan 19 times and 8 times as long as Iraq and Syria.” .
Internet service has been disabled more than 400 times in India in 2018 alone and in the last 4 years alone. Since the beginning of the current 2021, the Indian government has blocked the internet 7 times in the last one month alone in Haryana and the capital Delhi in the aftermath of the farmers’ struggle.
In particular, India frequently disables Internet service in areas including Jammu and Kashmir, which is considered a tense area. India has the highest number of days off internet service in the world. Internet service was suspended for a total of 213 days from August 4, 2019, to March 4, 2020, when Parliament announced the repeal of Section 370 of the Jammu and Kashmir Act.
According to data released by internetshutdowns.in, the number of Internet outages in India in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 is 79, 134, 106, 83, exceeding 400. Of these, a maximum of 134 has been disabled in 2018 alone.
Countries like India have legal facilities to disable internet service in certain areas. In disabling such internet service, there are two categories as preventive action and reaction. Internet service has been severely disrupted in 2019 due to preventive measures.
Internetshutdowns.in has reported that internet service has been disabled 1 time in Tamil Nadu in 2018 (during the Thoothukudi incident).
Disabling internet service also affects the country’s economy. According to Top10vpn, the cost of the 8,927-hour Internet shutdown in various parts of India in 2020 is estimated at $ 2.8 billion. An hourly internet outage in India costs an average of Rs 2 crore. As a result, Internet outages affect not only communication but also the economy.
Proof links :
the-number-of-internet-shutdowns-by-country
the-countries-shutting-down-the-internet-the-most-infographic
