In 2022, J&K had the highest internet disruptions in the world: Surfshark study

Internet shutdowns affected 4.2 billion people across the world last year, with Asia accounting for 47 percent of them. The highest internet disruptions in the world (24) were recorded in Jammu and Kashmir.

These are the findings of an internet censorship yearly recap by Surfshark, a VPN provider based in the Netherlands. It should be noted that the report counts shutdowns in the Jammu and Kashmir region as separate from its numbers for India.

The “most crippling internet censorship events of 2022” took place in Russia, India, Iran and the Jammu and Kashmir region. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were restricted while Russia also blocked access to major international news platforms. 

In India, “significant disruption” was noted in Bihar during the Agnipath protests. Read about it here. It also pointed out that TikTok has been banned in India since 2020. Meanwhile, the study said Jammu and Kashmir has been “facing unprecedented internet restrictions since 2019”.

The four causes of internet censorship, as identified by Surfshark, are protests, political turmoil, elections and internet law. In Jammu and Kashmir, for instance, all restrictions “were related to political turmoil”.

Overall in 2022, 32 countries were impacted by a total of 112 internet restrictions, of which 34 were ongoing before the start of 2022. Seventy-eight “new”disruptions were reported in 2022 – which is 40 percent less than in 2021.

Some of the longest-running restrictions include VoIP services being banned in Oman in 2009 (and certain services subsequently permitted); Iran’s blocking of Facebook access in 2009; and China’s ban on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in 2009.

But how do shutdowns happen? What rights do they violate and are they in accordance with the law in India? Watch this explainer for more.