India had the longest internet shutdown in 2023 in terms of user hours, according to a report by virtual private network tracker Top 10VPN.
In 2023, India imposed an internet shutdown of over 5,000 hours in Manipur alone, since the start of the ethnic conflict between the Kukis and Meiteis. In total, the internet was completely affected for 7,956 hours in India, impacting 59.1 million users and costing the global economy a little over $585 million. Of these, 7,812 hours were for internet blackout, while social media was shut down for 144 hours.
“India imposed 30 major internet shutdowns in 2023. As in previous years, these internet outages were highly localised to specific districts, cities, and even villages, and tended to be in response to civil unrest, often preemptively,” the report added.
Overall, in 2023, Russia topped the list of internet shutdowns in terms of user impact affecting 113 million users over 1,353 hours and costing the global economy $4.02 billion. Russia was followed by Ethiopia, Myanmar and Iran.
Shutdowns in India
Over the past years, the trend of internet shutdowns has increased in the world’s largest democracy, often raising questions about freedom of speech and expression in the country.
Another report from global non-profit Internet Society said in its report ‘Netloss’ that shutdowns by law enforcement agencies like the one in Manipur and Punjab cost the Indian economy $1.9 billion in the first half of 2023.
In Punjab, when Amritpal Singh — a radical preacher with the Khalistani separatist group Waris Punjab De — was on the run following a crackdown by state authorities, mobile internet services were blocked to avoid the spread of misinformation and fake news. The shutdown in Punjab left more than 25 million people without access to mobile internet.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, an Indian non-profit digital advocacy group, had then said the shutdown indicates a lack of administrative discretion and points towards internet shutdowns being ordered as a mere formality, rather than a necessity. “Applicable law, including Supreme Court guidelines, requires internet shutdown orders to contain reasons for the suspension,” it said.
A dubious record
According to a report from digital rights advocacy group Access Now, India imposed internet shutdowns 106 times in 2021 — more than any other country for the fourth consecutive year. Between 2012 and 2022, the country witnessed 683 internet shutdowns – the highest in the world.
In 2022, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) wrote to the central government, asking it to control internet shutdowns in the country and avert uncertainties that stem from state governments giving these orders.
According to a Reuters report, the industry body, whose members include Google, Twitter, Meta, and Reliance, said in a letter to the government that internet shutdowns in the country cause “significant inconvenience to the local public at large.”
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) moved by the software policy group Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), India, challenging the administrative internet shutdown orders issued by government departments at the state and central levels.
Twitter, the most impacted
According to the top 10VPN report, X (formerly Twitter) was the most blocked social media platform, suffering 10,683 hours of deliberate disruption – 18% more than Instagram and 26% more than TikTok.
The Elon-Musk-owned social media platform has had its share of run-ins with the Indian government, too, when it comes to complying with takedown orders.
Last month, the platform said it had to take down certain accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protest in parts of northern India, to comply with executive orders issued by the government. However, it said it disagreed with such a move.
“In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts,” the company’s global government affairs team said in a post.
The intermediary said it had provided the users whose accounts and posts were withheld in India due to the order with a notice of the action taken by the policies of the platform.
“Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making,” the post on X said.
Last year, after the platform was asked to take down a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that created a social media and political stir, Musk had said that “being compliant with India’s laws is better than having employees go to jail.”
Speaking to the BBC, he said, “If we have a choice of either our people going to prison or us complying with the laws, we will comply with the laws.”
