In this era of technology, the internet is one of the most used ways for people to stay connected and updated with what is going on in both the world and their own regions. But, last year around half the world was the victim of a politically motivated Internet Blackout, according to a new research by Surfshark.
The condemning research revealed that nineteen countries set out new restrictions on the usage of the internet by their citizens in the last year bringing the total number of countries that actively censor their citizen’s knowledge using such oppressive measures to 32.
According to Surfshark, authorities and governments have now started to take the support of Internet and social media interruptions and go as far as to impose a complete ban in order to keep their power, destroy the concept of free speech and to stop opposing parties. This however, instead of further strengthening their power, only serves as a catalyst to bring international attention to their dictator-esque scheme.
The top countries that practiced this sort of oppression included India, Iran and Russia as the most prominent countries that were prone to actively censoring their citizens, thus bringing more international coverage to their deeds.
As for the why, we wouldn’t need to delve very deep, as with Russia it is very obvious that because of their war on Ukraine they have been receiving a lot of backlash from the world and wanted to keep their citizens from it and from getting any news on what was going in both the countries, such they find it a reason to rebel.
In India, the reason for the censorship was protests. In Bihar, one of the biggest provinces of India, there was a huge controversy regarding Military recruitment and a new policy that had led it to this point. In this new policy some salaries of military people and some other benefits they had been on the receiving end of due to their position were cut.
"Residents of Jammu and Kashmir have been facing unprecedented internet restrictions since 2019 when the region was downgraded from an autonomous state to a union territory by the Indian government. In 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir region experienced 24 internet disruptions – more than any country in the world.", reveals Surfshark report.
Last but not least, we have Iran, where there has recently been a huge uprising due to the country being forced to follow the nation’s repressive Islamic law and protesters against this rule are being detained. But, they started the censorship properly after the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for “inappropriate dressing”, which became the cause of outrage throughout the world.
Overall, Surfshark found that around the world 112 internet ban measures are being taken, but before 2022 only a fourth of which were active; but this dark idea that the restrictions imposed on the internet is growing throughout the world can perhaps be dampened by the observation made by Surfshark that in 2022 there were quite less new bans imposed as compared to 2021.
Read next: VPN Apps Are The Most Popular Way To Browse The Web Anonymously, According To New Research
The condemning research revealed that nineteen countries set out new restrictions on the usage of the internet by their citizens in the last year bringing the total number of countries that actively censor their citizen’s knowledge using such oppressive measures to 32.
According to Surfshark, authorities and governments have now started to take the support of Internet and social media interruptions and go as far as to impose a complete ban in order to keep their power, destroy the concept of free speech and to stop opposing parties. This however, instead of further strengthening their power, only serves as a catalyst to bring international attention to their dictator-esque scheme.
The top countries that practiced this sort of oppression included India, Iran and Russia as the most prominent countries that were prone to actively censoring their citizens, thus bringing more international coverage to their deeds.
As for the why, we wouldn’t need to delve very deep, as with Russia it is very obvious that because of their war on Ukraine they have been receiving a lot of backlash from the world and wanted to keep their citizens from it and from getting any news on what was going in both the countries, such they find it a reason to rebel.
In India, the reason for the censorship was protests. In Bihar, one of the biggest provinces of India, there was a huge controversy regarding Military recruitment and a new policy that had led it to this point. In this new policy some salaries of military people and some other benefits they had been on the receiving end of due to their position were cut.
"Residents of Jammu and Kashmir have been facing unprecedented internet restrictions since 2019 when the region was downgraded from an autonomous state to a union territory by the Indian government. In 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir region experienced 24 internet disruptions – more than any country in the world.", reveals Surfshark report.
Last but not least, we have Iran, where there has recently been a huge uprising due to the country being forced to follow the nation’s repressive Islamic law and protesters against this rule are being detained. But, they started the censorship properly after the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for “inappropriate dressing”, which became the cause of outrage throughout the world.
Overall, Surfshark found that around the world 112 internet ban measures are being taken, but before 2022 only a fourth of which were active; but this dark idea that the restrictions imposed on the internet is growing throughout the world can perhaps be dampened by the observation made by Surfshark that in 2022 there were quite less new bans imposed as compared to 2021.
Read next: VPN Apps Are The Most Popular Way To Browse The Web Anonymously, According To New Research
