84 of the 187 internet shutdowns happened in India in 2022. Image for representational goal solely.
| Photo Credit: PTI
India imposed by far the best variety of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now mentioned on February 28, because the nation topped the listing for the fifth successive year.
Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 happened in India, together with 49 in Kashmir, the New York-based digital rights advocacy group mentioned in a report revealed on Tuesday.
“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 added.
Kashmir has lengthy been a flashpoint between India and archrival Pakistan, which declare the area in full however rule solely components.
In August 2019, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party authorities 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.
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The authorities has since frequently imposed communications restrictions on the area on safety grounds, which rights teams have condemned and described as measures to quash dissent.
Militants have battled India’s rule in Kashmir for greater than three many years. The South Asian nation blames Pakistan for stoking the revolt. Islamabad denies the claims.
Although India as soon as once more led the world in internet shutdowns, 2022 marked the primary time since 2017 that there have been fewer than 100 shutdowns in the nation, the watchdog mentioned.
Ukraine was second on the listing, with the Russian navy cutting access to the internet at the least 22 occasions after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 of final 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 mentioned in its report.
Ukraine was adopted on the listing by Iran the place authorities imposed 18 internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to demonstrations towards the federal government.
Nationwide anti-government protests erupted in Iran final fall after the dying of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian lady Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16 final year. Ms. Amini was arrested in Tehran by the morality police for flouting the hijab guidelines, which require girls to thoroughly cowl their hair and our bodies. She died whereas in custody.
