The Rise of the Internet Kill Switch in India

In 2019 and 2020, India executed what is believed to have been the longest internet shutdown ever implemented in a democracy when it majorly restricted the internet in Kashmir and Jammu for 213 days between Aug 4 and March 4.

In recent years, India has relied heavily on shutting the internet down to quell protest. 2019 saw shutdowns triggered over the Citizenship Amendment Act and a change of the status of Kashmir – two laws working in the disfavor of Muslims in the country. The Software Freedom Law Center counted 106 internet shutdowns in India in 2019, slightly below the 134 shutdowns recorded for 2018. In the corona year of 2020, fewer shutdowns were counted in India, but the country still topped the list of the biggest economic damages inflicted by internet shutdowns ($2.8 billion) and might still top the list of countries with most internet shutdowns in total (expected in February from NGO Access Now).