we were Said it for 20 yearsnow more than ever: The Internet is an essential service. It enables people to build and create community, expose injustice, and gain important knowledge that might otherwise be unavailable. Access to it becomes even more necessary with the ability to communicate and share real-time information directly with people you trust. Vital to personal safety and survival. More specifically, during wartime and conflict, Internet and telephone services enabled the exchange of information in challenging situations, as well as news reporting by reporters on the ground and ordinary citizens.
Unfortunately, governments around the world are very clear They have the ability to cut this vital lifeline and often take action Targeted measures taken to this end. These internet shutdowns have become blunt instruments that fuel state violence and stifle free speech, and are often used to directly violate human rights and civil liberties.
This is not a one-dimensional situation.Nearly two decades after the world’s first total internet shutdown, such draconian measures are no longer the exclusive domain of authoritarian states; Has become a favorite Different governments across three continents. For example:
exist IranThe government has suppressed internet access for years.Especially in the past two years, people Iran suffers repeated internet and social media blockades Mahsa Amini was murdered in police custody for refusing to wear a headscarf, sparking a radical movement following her death. The movement attracted global attention, and in response, the Iranian government rushed to control the public narrative and organize events by banning social media and sometimes cutting off internet access entirely.
exist Sudan, The authorities have completely blocked telecommunications During large-scale conflicts and displacement crises. The internet shutdown is a deliberate strategy to stop the flow of information to educate people about the crisis and prevent humanitarian aid from reaching people threatened by the conflict.Communications blackout has been extended for weeks in response Global campaign #KeepItOn The organization was formed to put pressure on the Sudanese government to restore people’s access to these vital services. More than 300 global humanitarian organizations have signed up to support #KeepItOn.
and in Palestinethe Israeli government exercise near-total control With both wired internet and mobile phone infrastructure, Palestinians in Gaza have experienced repeated internet outages caused by Israeli authorities.The most recent outage occurred in January 2024 widespread repression Israeli government initiatives on digital rights – including censorship, surveillance and arrests – and Allegations of bias and unwarranted censorship through social media platforms. At that time, following calls from civil society and the state, the Internet was restored, Including the United States.as We have noticedinternet shutdowns hamper residents’ ability to access and share resources and information, as well as the ability of residents and journalists to document and draw attention to what’s going on on the ground — which is more necessary than ever because 83 journalists killed in the conflict so far.
Given that all cables connecting Gaza to the outside world pass through Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Transportation has the ability to easily cut off Palestinian access.The ministry also allocates spectrum to mobile phone companies; in 2015 we wrote an agreement 3G was provided to Palestinians years later than the rest of the world. 2022, President Biden Proposal to upgrade West Bank and Gaza to 4G, but the initiative stalled.While some Palestinians were able to circumvent the outages by using Israeli SIM cards (which are difficult to obtain) or Egyptian eSIM cards, these workarounds do not solve the larger blackout problem, the National Security Council argued explain: “[deprive] Loss of access to life-saving information also reduces the ability of first responders and other humanitarian actors to operate safely. “
Enter internet infrastructure It is vital both in wartime and in peacetime. With so many outages, we remain concerned about authorities being able to control the ability of millions of people to communicate. No matter how user platforms and Internet companies change over time, people’s access to the Internet must be protected. We continue to shout this again and again because it needs to be reiterated, and unfortunately there are more examples of this happening before our eyes today.