India implemented 84 shutdowns in 2022, and remains the country with the highest number of recorded shutdowns in the world — for the fifth consecutive year, according to a report by the American organization “Access Now”, which monitors internet censorship across the world.
The organization’s report said that the internet was cut off 187 times in the countries of the world during the year 2022, of which 84 times were in India alone, which is the highest number in the world, and this led to an economic loss amounting to $ 2.8 billion, last year.
The “Access Now” report added that most shutdowns occurred in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing that the Internet was cut off from the region due to violence and political instability, while the Indian authorities claim that political and security stability has been established in the region after its autonomy abolished in August 2019.
In 2021, Kashmir region had 80% of the Internet shutdowns in India, i.e. 85 out of a total of 106 shutdowns in India, moreover, the Indian government – according to the report – closed more than 55,000 websites and phone applications.
Mobile and social media accounts during the period from 2015 to 2022, as the Indian government uses the Internet as a weapon of control.
