Shrinking Democracy, Growing Violence: Internet Shutdowns in 2023

This report was published in May 2024 by Access Now for the #KeepItOn campaign which promotes the end of internet shutdowns. The report is authored by Zach Rosson, Felicia Anthonio, and Carolyn Tackett in collaboration with the Access Now team. It provides a comprehensive database on internet shutdowns all over the world for the year 2023.The report notes that authorities have used internet shutdowns to worsen violence, war crimes, and other undemocratic offences. Many lives have been lost due to this tactic, from Palestine to Myanmar, Sudan to Ukraine. The report states that in 2023, there were 283 cases of internet shutdown across 39 countries. Out of these, 116 shutdowns happened in India, making it the nation leading in internet shutdowns. This 58-page document is divided into seven sections: Internet shutdowns in 2023: a global overview (Section 1); Triggers for Internet shutdowns in 2023 (Section 2); New and continuing trends in 2023 (Section 3); Internet shutdowns by region (Section 4); Fighting back in 2023: Growth, support, solidarity, and resilience (Section 5), Recommendations for stakeholders (Section 6) and Join Us (Section 7).