Context:
The number of Internet shutdowns in India was slightly lower in 2024 than in 2023, according to the Software Freedom Law Center (SLFC), India’s annual report.
Report Highlights
- Numbers Decline
- Slightly lower are the Internet shutdowns in India by SFLC India for the year 2024 as compared to 2023.
- Top Shutdown Globally
- India is the world’s top country for government ordered Internet shutdowns, according to Access Now.
- Government Justification
- The Union government sees mobile Internet service being shut down as an indispensable tool in the regulation of law and order.
Shutdowns Due to Communal Violence: India Leads the World
- All 88 Internet shutdowns due to communal violence in 2023 & 2024 are in India.
- From 2018, 95% of all global shutdowns related to communal violence originated from India.
- Most affected States (2023-24)
- Manipur: 54
- Haryana: 7
- Bihar: 9 shutdowns
- Internet Shutdowns Reason Over the Years
- 2024: More than 50% for protests.
- 2023: Over 50% for communal violence.
- Political instability was the primary reason for the years 2021 & 2022.
Breakdown of 2024 Shutdowns
- Total shutdowns: 84.
- Reasons for shutdowns
- Demonstration Season
- Communal Clashes
- Examination cheating
- Shut down usage beyond an emergency raises serious questions of proportionality and necessity.
Legal & Human Rights Dimensions
- Supreme Court Judgment
- The SC held in Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India that shut downs need to pass the necessity and proportionality tests.
- Harm to Citizens
- Livelihoods and Businesses are Damaged.
- Reach to health and education has been disrupted.
- Time is lost in violence due to the absence of real time information.
Opacity of Shutdowns
- Reports show that the many orders of shutdowns were not accompanied with an appropriate documentation, as required by the Telecommunication (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024.
- Impact Assessment
- The Economic and social impact of shutdowns should be assessed by the government but in no clear advance.
Authorities may try to argue that the Internet shutdowns contribute to controlling a crisis; however, the frequency and opacity of their implementation raise serious concerns. India must find ways to ensure a great reduction of shutdowns and to avoid using them in less serious cases, resulting in even possible accountability.
Source: The Hindu
