Internet shutdowns in 2021: the return of digital authoritarianism

28 April - Access Now
| May 06, 2022

Read this blog by Access Now, on internet shutdowns and digital authoritarianism in 2021 across the world, and the impact of COVID-19. The blog introduces this report on trends and triggers over the last year, read their new report in full: The return of digital authoritarianism: internet shutdowns in 2021.

"In 2021, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented 182 internet shutdowns across 34 countries. This shows a dramatic resurgence of this oppressive form of control compared to 159 shutdowns recorded in 29 countries in 2020. For a full exploration of trends and triggers over the last year, read our new report, The return of digital authoritarianism: internet shutdowns in 2021."

"Five years of shutdowns: Data from 2016 to 2021, gathered collaboratively and confirmed through the global #KeepItOn coalition, shows that, apart from 2020 when the global COVID-19 pandemic broke out, we have not recorded a significant decrease in shutdowns globally, nor have we seen the number of countries imposing them diminish."

Read here