Government Internet Shutdowns Cost Over $4 Billion in 2020

This Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns in 2020 annual report calculates the total economic impact of every major internet blackout and social media shutdown around the world that year.

This report expands on our 2019 report into the cost of governments using DNS-filtering technology to block internet access. In order to add important context to these incidents of extreme internet censorship, we also identified additional human rights abuses perpetrated during these disruptions to normal internet access.

To determine the global cost of government internet outages, we collated every national and region-wide incident around the world, determined the duration of the restrictions and used the COST tool to calculate their economic impact.

This tool, developed by internet monitoring NGO Netblocks, uses indicators from the World Bank, ITU, Eurostat and US Census.

We found that there were over 27,000 hours of deliberate internet shutdowns around the world in 2020, which cost the global economy $4.01 billion. This represents a 50% decrease in economic impact compared to $8.05 billion in 2019.

Jump straight to economic impact data by region, country and by context.

The longest government internet shutdowns in 2020 were again in India and Myanmar. In both countries, internet restrictions originally imposed in 2019 continued throughout 2020. The Chad government again restricted access to WhatsApp after blocking the app for more than a year in 2018/19. Combined, these three countries experienced a total 64% increase in the number of hours of deliberate internet restrictions in 2020, despite the global public health emergency.

“Internet shutdowns block people from getting essential information and services. During this global health crisis, shutdowns directly harm people’s health and lives, and undermine efforts to bring the pandemic under control.” – Human Rights Watch^[1]

What Is An Internet Shutdown?

We use the definition from Access Now: “An internet shutdown is an intentional disruption of internet or electronic communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a specific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information.”

In this report, we include social media shutdowns, internet blackouts and severe throttling in our calculations. These types of internet disruption are defined as follows:

• Internet blackouts: internet access is completely cut off. This extreme censorship measure cannot be directly circumvented. We have included partial internet blackouts, i.e. on specific Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and modified our calculations accordingly in such cases.
• Social media shutdowns: access to social media platforms, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter or YouTube, is blocked. This can typically be circumvented by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
• Severe throttling: internet access has been reduced to 2G speeds, which permits the use of SMS and voice calls but renders modern websites and apps functionally unusable. This is an internet blackout in all but name.

While we expanded our report to include additional human rights abuses associated with each deliberate internet disruption, it’s important to make clear that internet shutdowns are themselves a violation of international human rights law. That’s because they directly infringe upon citizens’ freedom of expression, right to information, and rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

The U.N. “condemns unequivocally measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online in violation of international human rights law and calls on all States to refrain from and cease such measures”. – U.N. Resolution, 2016^[2]

Internet shutdowns have also been shown to be deployed as a means of concealing violent abuses by the state.

During our analysis of every internet shutdown in 2020, we saw a continuation of the trends we identified the year before. They most often occur in response to protests or civil unrest, especially surrounding elections, as authoritarian regimes look to restrict the flow of information and maintain their grip on power.

It’s telling that every deliberate internet outage that took place around an election in 2020 coincided with accusations of election interference.

While the ongoing global pandemic makes it impossible to predict what will happen in 2021, the evidence suggests that internet shutdowns will continue to cause misery around the world.

See all of our Cost of Internet Shutdowns research

The following sections of the report examine the circumstances around each instance of governments cutting or restricting access to the internet.

We have looked at each country individually and broken out the duration of each type of internet outage. We have also identified the nature of any additional human rights abuses in each country associated with the government internet outages.

Countries are ordered and grouped according to the overall economic impact of their government’s internet restrictions over the course of the year.

Use the following links to jump straight to the relevant country-by-country section:

• Internet shutdowns costing over $500 million
• Internet shutdowns costing $100-$250 million
• Internet shutdowns costing $10-$100 million
• Internet shutdowns costing $1-$10 million
• Internet shutdowns costing under $1 million

Internet Shutdowns With Over $500 Million Cost

India

• Internet blackouts: 1,655 hours
• bandwidth throttling: 7,272 hours
• Total cost of internet outages: $2,779.3 million
• Human rights abuses: Right to peaceful assembly & freedom of press

India continued to deliberately cut internet access more than any other country: over 75 times in 2020.^[4] Most of these short internet outages were highly-targeted, affecting groups of villages or individual city districts and so were not included in this report, which focuses on larger region-wide internet shutdowns. The true economic cost is therefore likely to be even higher than the $2.8 billion we have calculated.

In Kashmir, authorities lifted internet restrictions in March 2020,^[5] seven months on from the controversial move to strip India’s only Muslim-majority region of its autonomy. However, even after internet access was restored, authorities continued to severely throttle internet speeds, with citizens only able to access 2G connections.

During the longest internet shutdown in a democracy,^[6] the arbitrary arrest of senior Kashmiri political leaders, lawyers, rights activist and students became widespread.

The restrictions on internet access have negatively impacted the distribution of medicine, businesses and schools.^[7]

“The limiting of networks to 2G has made it impossible for online classes to function adequately. Graduate students and teachers have been unable to participate in conferences or have their papers published, causing willful harm to their careers and violating the rights to education.” – Human Rights Watch^[8]

The Indian government continues to justify the ongoing internet restrictions as “absolutely necessary in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India”.^[9]

Belarus

• Internet blackouts: 218 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $336.4 million
• Human rights abuses: Right to peaceful assembly, election interference, press freedoms

Authorities in Belarus cut internet access in August and September to try to stifle protests following a controversial presidential election, whose results were described as “falsified” by the international community.^[10]

During the internet outages, there were multiple reports of police brutality and attacks on the press.

In response, protesters turned to privacy apps including Telegram and VPN services to continue organizing protests.^[12] During the period of internet restrictions, we documented a 650% spike in VPN demand. Such demand is typically focused on popular free VPN services, many of which are unsafe.

Internet Shutdowns With Costs of $100-$250 million

Yemen

• Internet blackouts: 912 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $236.8 million

Damage to an undersea cable reduced Yemen’s internet capacity by 80% in January. Some have claimed it was a deliberate act of sabotage by the Houthi rebels that control large swathes of the country, however this allegation remains unconfirmed.

“Regardless of who or what is responsible, Yemenis were effectively cut off from one another and the rest of the world. The continued disconnections have become increasingly dangerous with the continued spread of COVID-19,” Access Now said in a statement.^[13]

Myanmar

• Internet blackouts: 5,160 hours
• Bandwidth throttling: 3,648 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $189.9 million
• Human rights abuses: Press freedoms

Internet outages in the Chin and Rakhine regions of Myanmar continued in 2020, with an internet blackout continuing until early August. However, even after internet access was restored, authorities continued to throttle internet speeds.

Human Rights Watch claimed the ongoing internet outages have “meant that people in some villages are unaware of the Covid-19 outbreak”.^[14]

In an article for TIME magazine, Kyaw Hsan Hlaing, a student, activist and freelance journalist from Rakhine State, described how the restrictions had impacted people’s livelihood: “Although 2G services were restored this August, 3G and 4G networks remain blocked in all but one of the affected townships, leaving people unable to perform a basic internet search. The government says these restrictions aim to hinder the activities of the Arakan Army, but it has also imperiled the safety of many civilians who lack access to vital information.”^[15]

Azerbaijan

• Social media shutdowns: 1,128 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $122.6 million
• Human rights abuses: Press freedoms

Azerbaijan authorities blocked access to Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter from late September into November. This internet censorship was imposed during the eruption of violent conflict with Armenia over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.^[16]

“Internet shutdowns restrict access to vital information, prevent people from communicating with loved ones, limit the effectiveness of emergency responders, and suppress reporting of human rights violations.

“Especially during times of conflict and unrest, dependable internet access can help civilians access credible information which can be the difference between life and death.” – Access Now^[17]

During the period of the internet outages, we documented a 1,646% increase in VPN demand as citizens attempted to circumvent the internet censorship.

Ethiopia

• Internet blackouts: 1,536 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $111.3 million
• Human rights abuses: Right to peaceful assembly, election interference, press freedoms

Ethiopia continued its disturbing trend of restricting the access to the internet during politically sensitive moments in 2020.

For more than three weeks between June and July, internet access was cut off as protests swept the country following the killing of popular singer Hachalu Hundessa.^[18][19]

This internet outage was followed by another communications blackout in the Tigray region after violent conflict broke out in November. The internet restrictions significantly limited the work of humanitarian agencies during the conflict and prevented citizens from communicating with their relatives in the region.

“The phone and internet shutdown has made it difficult for journalists and aid workers to document and confirm reports of the situation on the ground, Ethiopians outside the region have also been cut off from their relatives in Tigray.” – Human Rights Watch^[20]

Internet Shutdowns With $10-100 Million Cost

Sudan

• Internet blackouts: 36 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $68.7 million

Authorities in Sudan once again restricted access to the internet in 2020 after similar internet outages cost the country almost $2 billion in 2019.

This year the Sudan authorities said they cut access to the internet to stop students f
rom cheating during exams.

According to a report by Global Voices: “The mechanism used for this shutdown – disabling mobile data – was the same one used in the 2019 shutdown, when local internet services provides (ISPs) in Sudan only disabled the access point name or APN.”^[21]

Turkey

• Social media shutdowns: 18 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $51.1 million

The Turkish government blocked access to Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter following an attack against Turkish troops in Syria in February.^[22]

The internet outage led to a surge in demand for VPN services, which increased by 810% during the social media blocks.

The Turkish government said online disinformation over the number of casualties suffered in the attack was to blame for their decision to block access to social media.

Syria

• Internet blackouts: 79 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $35.9 million

Syria has repeatedly shut down the internet during exam periods, a practice that had began in 2016.^[23] In 2020, internet access was cut for 4-6 hour periods in June, July, and August as exams took place.

The Syrian Ministry of Education justified the measure as a “precautionary measure to ensure [the students’] health and safety, in a manner than ensures the smooth running of the examination process, its transparency and integrity”.^[24]

Tanzania

• Internet blackouts: 264 hours
• Social media shutdowns: 168 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $27.5 million
• Human rights abuses: Right to peaceful assembly, election interference, press freedoms

The Tanzanian authorities blocked access to social media on the eve of the country’s presidential elections in October.

The internet outage meant “Twitter, WhatsApp, backend servers for Instagram and some Google services including Gmail and Translate [were] generally or partially unavailable,” according to Netblocks.^[25]

There was also a partial internet blackout in the run up to the election and several days after, with internet access reduced to 90% of normal levels.

Twitter has been blocked since the initial social media shutdown, although the disruptions have not been consistent. During this period, we documented an enormous 18,823% spike in demand for VPNs.

Chad

• Internet blackouts: 672 hours
• Social media shutdowns: 3,936 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $23.1 million

Chad continued its long trend of blocking access to social media and restricting its citizens’ access to the internet.

Authorities tried to justified the most recent internet outage on the basis that it was to prevent the spread of messages “inciting hate and division” after videos of a military officer opening fire on a civilian mechanic began circulating.^[26]

Access to WhatsApp was previously restored in 2019 after one of the longest social media shutdowns in the world. However, WhatsApp has been blocked once more in Chad since August 2020.

Internet Shutdowns With $1-10 Million Cost

Algeria

• Internet blackouts: 2 hours
• Social media shutdowns: 24 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $9.6 million

Algerian authorities once again restricted access to the internet during exams in 2020. A 24-hour social media shutdown was followed by a two-hour internet blackout in September.^[27] In response, we documented an 828% increase in VPN demand.

The internet outage was criticized as a disproportionate measure to stop exam cheats. “Everyone will be disconnected, from businesses to emergency workers, to hospitals and government agencies, all to stop students from sharing exam answers with each other,” said Access Now.^[28]

The country has a history of shutting down the internet during exams, with restrictions costing almost $200 million in 2019.

Guinea

• Internet blackouts: 102 hours
• Social media shutdowns: 136 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $6.1 million
• Human rights abuses: Election Interference

Internet access was restricted in March and October 2020 in Guinea during elections. On both occasions authorities implemented social media shutdowns and internet blackouts to prevent the free flow of information and interfere with the democratic process.^[29][30]

Our team observed a rise in VPN demand around the time of each vote. In March VPN demand increased by 1,257%, while in October it surged by 3,043%, as citizens prepared for internet outages.

Jordan

• Social media shutdowns: 92 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $4.9 million

The Jordan government blocked seven popular social media platforms: Telegram, Facebook, Viber, Line, Tango, Whatsapp and IMO, daily between 10am and 2pm for much of July, during the country’s national high school exams.^[31]

The government tried to justify the restrictions by stating “supreme national interest and cooperation must be made so that this process is correct and transparent that reflects the students’ abilities”.^[32]

The Jordan Open Source Association, however, criticized the move and called for an alternative method to, “prevent fraud without compromising citizens’ rights to have access to the internet without restrictions”.^[33]

Venezuela

• Social media shutdowns: 2 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $2.4 million
• Human rights abuses: Election interference

State-run internet service provider (ISP) ABA CANTV blocked access to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter on Jan 5 2020 as the members of the opposition were blocked from entering the National Assembly ahead of a key leadership vote.^[34][35]

This caused a spike in VPN demand by 1,731% as locals attempted to bypass the internet restrictions.

Iran

• Internet blackouts: 9 hours
• Total cost of internet restrictions: $2 million
• Human rights abuses: Right to peaceful assembly

In July, October and November, authorities in Iran briefly cut citizens’ access to the internet. While the overall cost of these internet outages was not comparable with the previous year, hundreds of thousands of people remained cut-off from the internet during politically sensitive moments.^[36][37][38]

Internet Shutdowns With Costs of Under $1M

Iraq

Internet access was cut for 8 hours in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province on December 7 following clashes between protesters and security forces over late salaries, high unemployment and declining living conditions.^[39][40]

Somalia

Internet access was cut off for 31 hours in Somalia over July 26-27.^[41] The internet blackout began following the unexpected removal of long-serving Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.

The ousting drew criticism from the European Union and US Embassy, who denounced the removal as irregular and unconstitutional.^[42][43]

Burundi

Authorities in Burundi blocked access to social media in August as citizens went to the polls. Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp were all affected during the 48-hour restriction.^[44] During this period, we recorded a 5,686% spike in demand for VPN.

“Human rights groups said they had received reports of harassment of opposition members and incidents of voter fraud, but with social media blocked, they were unable to confirm them,” the New York Times reported.^[45]

Kyrgyzstan

A partial internet cut followed after protests broke out in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, due to alleged election interference in Kyrgyzstan’s recent parliamentary elections.

The results were annulled following widespread protests which were met by violent clashes with the police, which left hundreds injured and at least one person dead.^[46][47]

Several members of the press were attacked while covering the vote and ensuing unrest, with harassment and gunfire from the special forces.^[48]

Togo

As the polls closed on election day, restrictions were placed on Facebook and Whatsapp through Togo’s main state operator, Togo Telecom.^[49]

The timing of the social media shutdown coincided with the key opposition leader’s home being surrounded by security forces under the guise of Agbeyomem Kodjo’s “personal security”.^[50]

We reviewed every documented internet and social media shutdown globally in 2020. We included national shutdowns along with regional disruptions that on a sufficient scale to be economically significant. For the purposes of this research, internet outages due to natural disasters or infrastructural failures were not included, nor were outage days prior to 2020 for ongoing incidents.

Shutdown nature, duration and severity was sourced from Netblocks real-time graphic data and reports, IODA and the SFLC.IN Internet Shutdown Tracker. Additional open-sourced information used came from Access Now and reputable news reports.

Shutdown costs were derived from the Netblocks Cost of Shutdown Tool, based on the Brookings Institution method. Regional shutdown costs were calculated by determining the region’s economic output as a proportion of national GDP.

Regional shutdown costs were calculated as a proportion of national costs, based on a region’s economic contribution to national GDP. In the case of Myanmar, where official regional GDP data was not available, costs were based on the internet users in the affected area as a proportion of total internet users.

Mobile-only or carrier-specific outages were calculated as a proportion of the above costs based on the most up-to-date market-share information publicly available.

Internet user data sourced from the World Bank and government reports.

Download the 2020 cost of internet shutdowns data sheet as a Google Sheet or as a PDF.

Additional research by Christine O’Donnell

Main image: A paramilitary trooper stands on guard on the first anniversary of the abrogation of semi-autonomous status of Jammu & Kashmir, India, on 5th August, 2020. Credit: SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Live News.

^{[1] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/end-internet-shutdowns-manage-covid-19 ↩}

^{[2] https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/2016/06/A_HRC_32_L.20_English-OR-30-June.docx ↩}

^{[3] https://iran-shutdown.amnesty.org/ ↩}

^{[4] https://internetshutdowns.in/ ↩}

^{[5] https://www.dw.com/en/india-restores-internet-access-in-kashmir-with-conditions/a-52643554 ↩}

^{[6] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/17/india-failing-kashmiri-human-rights ↩}

^{[7] https://www.medianama.com/2020/08/223-kashmir-internet-shutdown-medicine/ ↩}

^{[8] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/04/india-abuses-persist-jammu-and-kashmir ↩}

^{[9] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/22/high-speed-internet-ban-in-kashmir-to-continue ↩}

^{[10] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-calls-for-fresh-presidential-elections-in-belarus ↩}

^{[11] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/08/belarus-police-must-be-held-accountable-for-violence/ ↩}

^{[12] https://www.dw.com/en/in-belarus-privacy-apps-help-resist-internet-shutdown/a-54560843 ↩}

^{[13] https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton-as-yemens-war-goes-online-internet-shutdowns-and-censorship-are-hurting-yemenis/ ↩}

^{[14] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/19/myanmar-end-worlds-longest-internet-shutdown ↩}

^{[15] https://time.com/5910040/myanmar-internet-ban-rakhine/ ↩}

^{[16] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/10/human-rights-groups-detail-war-crimes-in-nagorno-karabakh ↩}

^{[17] https://www.accessnow.org/azerbaijan-armenia-internet-shutdown/ ↩}

^{[18] https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-cut-in-ethiopia-amid-unrest-following-killing-of-singer-pA25Z28b ↩}

^{[19] https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068781 ↩}

^{[20] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/13/ethiopia-protect-people-tigray-crisis-escalates ↩}

^{[21] https://globalvoices.org/2020/11/09/shutdowns-throttling-and-stifling-dissent-online-africas-new-normal-part-ii/ ↩}

^{[22] https://netblocks.org/reports/social-media-blocked-in-turkey-as-idlib-military-crisis-escalates-r8VWGXA5 ↩}

^{[23] https://twitter.com/InternetIntel/status/1298621788310704130 ↩}

^{[24] https://www.zarkachat.com/general-exam-2020-syria-starts-21-6-2020/ ↩}

^{[25] https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-disrupted-in-tanzania-on-eve-of-presidential-elections-oy9abny3 ↩}

^{[26] https://www.accessnow.org/shutdownstories-how-chad-fixation-on-social-media-blackouts-hurts-citizens/ ↩}

^{[27] https://netblocks.org/reports/social-media-restricted-and-internet-cut-during-algeria-school-exams-xAGolxAz ↩}

^{[28] https://www.accessnow.org/need-stop-shutting-internet-school-exams/ ↩}

^{[29] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guinea-election/gunfire-and-barricades-in-guinea-as-president-heads-for-third-term-idUSKBN2781QB ↩}

^{[30] https://freedomhouse.org/country/guinea/freedom-world/2020 ↩}

^{[31] https://smex.org/noexamshutdown-4-mena-countries-shut-down-the-internet-so-far-to-fight-cheating/ ↩}

^{[32] https://royanews.tv/news/218994 ↩}

^{[33] https://twitter.com/jo_osa/status/1278317849577226241 ↩}

^{[34] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/americas/venezuela-noticias-guaido-maduro.html ↩}

^{[35] https://www.france24.com/en/20200107-venezuela-s-guaido-sworn-in-as-parliament-speaker-after-stand-off ↩}

^{[36] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/07/iran-two-kurds-executed-amid-increasing-use-of-death-penalty-as-weapon-of-repression/ ↩}

^{[37] https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/10/iran-singer-death-protests-mohammad-reza-shajarian-musician.html ↩}

^{[38] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-50444429 ↩}

^{[39] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/8/iraqi-leader-calls-for-end-to-violence-in-sulaymaniyah-protests ↩}

^{[40] https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201211-iraq-8-killed-in-sulaymaniyah-protests/ ↩}

^{[41] https://netblocks.org/reports/somalia-internet-blackout-after-parliament-votes-to-remove-prime-minister-DA3lx6BW ↩}

^{[42] https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/83408/somalia-statement-high-representativevice-president-josep-borrell-recent-developments-house_en ↩}

^{[43] https://so.usembassy.gov/united-states-concerned-over-irregularities-of-no-confidence-vote-somalias-future-elections-process/ ↩}

^{[44] https://netblocks.org/reports/social-media-disrupted-in-burundi-on-election-day-JBZLPY86 ↩}

^{[45] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/world/africa/burundi-election.html ↩}

^{[46] https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kyrgyzstan-protests-election-result-idUKKBN26R1AJ ↩}

^{[467] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-54432030 ↩}

^{[48] https://cpj.org/2020/10/journalists-attacked-obstructed-during-and-after-parliamentary-elections-in-kyrgyzstan/ ↩}

^{[49] https://netblocks.org/reports/social-media-disrupted-in-togo-on-election-day-r8VWr4A5 ↩}

^{[50] https://news.yahoo.com/togo-goes-polls-president-seeks-likely-fourth-term-130635642.html ↩}

Updated Jan 21 2022 to adjust references to 2019 total shutdown duration hours throughout after a small number of data formatting anomalies were discovered in the underlying historical data.