In 2024, there were 296 internet shutdowns in 54 countries around the world, with Myanmar, India, Pakistan and Russia accounting for about 70% of the total.
Access Now, a digital rights advocacy group that investigates internet censorship, has released a report summarizing internet shutdowns around the world for 2024. It reports that 54 countries around the world, including India, Russia and Myanmar, shut down the internet in 2024.
Lives on hold: internet shutdowns in 2024 - Access Now
https://www.accessnow.org/internet-shutdowns-2024/
KeepItOn-2024-Internet-Shutdowns-Annual-Report.pdf
(PDF file) https://www.accessnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/KeepItOn-2024-Internet-Shutdowns-Annual-Report.pdf
Why 2024 Was The Worst Year for Internet Shutdowns | TechPolicy.Press
https://www.techpolicy.press/why-2024-was-the-worst-year-for-internet-shutdowns/
Global internet shutdowns hit record high in 2024 as governments block access
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/24/global-internet-blackouts
In a new report, Access Now reported that a total of 296 internet shutdowns were confirmed in 54 countries around the world in 2024, surpassing the previous record of 40 countries in 2023. Of the shutdowns, 47 have continued into 2025, and 35 have lasted for more than a year.
Nearly 70% of the internet shutdowns occurred in four countries: Myanmar, India, Pakistan, and Russia, with a total of 203 shutdowns. Myanmar had the most shutdowns with 85, which were initiated by at least six regime-led groups. India had the next most shutdowns with 84, followed by Pakistan with 21 and Russia with 19. Russia's shutdowns included seven in occupied territories of Ukraine.
Seven countries are listed as having shut down the internet for the first time in 2024: Guinea- Bissau, the Comoros , Mauritius , Thailand, Malaysia, El Salvador and France.
Some people may be surprised to hear that France has shut down the Internet, but in May 2024, the French government blocked TikTok to suppress riots in New Caledonia , a French overseas territory. Access Now counts these SNS blocks as a type of Internet shutdown. The most frequently blocked SNS was X (formerly Twitter) with 24 cases, followed by TikTok with 10 cases and Signal with 9 cases.
Conflict was the leading reason for internet shutdowns, with a total of 103 conflict-related shutdowns reported across 11 countries in 2024. There were also 74 protest-related shutdowns, 16 exam-related shutdowns, and 12 election-related shutdowns.
Additionally, Access Now claims that 72 internet shutdowns in 17 countries were implemented to cover up serious human rights violations, including the 'killing of protesters,' 'airstrikes targeting civilians,' and 'the blocking of humanitarian aid.'
It is not always the government of a country that shuts down the internet, but there have been cases of countries shutting down the internet abroad, such as Russia shutting down the internet in Ukraine, and Israel shutting down the internet in Gaza. According to Access Now, there have also been reports of Thailand and China shutting down the internet in Myanmar.
'For two years in a row, authorities and parties to the conflict have imposed an unprecedented number of internet shutdowns as a weapon of war and a tool of collective punishment, pushing communities into digital darkness and concealing serious human rights violations,' said Felicio Antonio, manager of Access Now's #KeepItOn campaign against internet shutdowns.
The Access Now report also noted that authorities have used a variety of means to shut down the internet, including jamming devices, cutting cables, destroying infrastructure, and targeting internet service providers (ISPs). In Myanmar, authorities have also targeted satellite internet services using low-Earth orbit satellites, a first since the study began.
Zach Rosson, research lead at Access Now, said: 'As perpetrators become more sophisticated in their tactics to silence dissent, our responses as civil society and human rights defenders must also become more sophisticated. The unyielding fight against internet shutdowns around the world requires a collective and coordinated effort because fundamental human rights are at stake.'
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