Elham Asaad Buaras

India imposed the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world last year for the fifth consecutive year, according to data compiled by a New York-based digital rights advocacy group, Access Now.

.84 of the 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded across 35 countries in 2022 occurred in India, including 49 in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“Authorities disrupted internet access at least 49 times in Kashmir due to political instability and violence, including a string of 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long curfew-style shutdowns in January and February 2022”, the watchdog report published on February 28.

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, which claim the region in full but rule only parts.

In August 2019, the Hindu nationalist BJP government led by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, scrapped the autonomy of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, splitting it into two federally administered territories.

The government has since regularly imposed communications restrictions on the region on security grounds, which rights groups have condemned and described as measures to quash dissent.

Militants have battled India’s rule in Kashmir for more than three decades. The South Asian country blames Pakistan for stoking the revolt. Islamabad denies the claims.

Although India once again led the world in internet shutdowns, 2022 marked the first time since 2017 that there were fewer than 100 shutdowns in the country, the watchdog said. However, Access Now says they are “not convinced” that the reduced number of internet shutdowns in India reflects improved changes to digital rights in the country.

“Legal challenges against shutdowns, fewer mass protests in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the sustained and increasing crackdown on dissent may have increased administrative friction or reduced the incentives for authorities to impose shutdowns,” concludes the report, titled Weapons of Control, Shields of Impunity: Internet Shutdowns in 2022.

Access Now says they have not yet recorded all disruptions, citing the Indian government’s refusal to abide by the Supreme Court’s judgement “to publicly release shutdown orders.”

The report adds, “The proposed Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, which would empower central and state governments with unrestricted powers to impose shutdowns when ‘necessary and expedient,’ signals the government’s intention to continue down this troublesome path, violating fundamental rights of expression and assembly and providing opportunities to cover up human rights abuses.

In addition to shutdowns, Indian authorities have honed their playbook by increasing censorship, blocking websites, and issuing takedown orders to social media platforms.”

Ukraine was second on the list, with the Russian military cutting access to the internet at least 22 times after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 of last year.

“During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military cut internet access at least 22 times, engaging in cyberattacks and deliberately destroying telecommunications infrastructure,” the watchdog said in its report.

Ukraine was followed on the list by Iran, where authorities imposed 18 internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to anti-government protests.