essay on impact of frequent internet shutdown on online education it should be about 100 to 150 world's
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Restrictions to Internet access are on the rise globally,[1] with frequent news of government-mandated disruptions of Internet access. Driven largely by political and national security concerns, state-ordered Internet shutdowns have become the “new normal” in many countries.
The United Nations considers cutting off users from Internet access, regardless of the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of Article 19, Paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also calls upon all States to ensure that Internet access is maintained at all times, including during times of political unrest.[2]
At a time when governments of the world have committed to leveraging the power of the Internet and Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) to reach the U.N. goals on Sustainable Development in areas such as education, health and economic growth, cutting off entire populations from the Internet is extremely counterproductive.
This policy brief highlights a series of externalities associated with Internet shutdowns and calls on policymakers to “think twice” whenever they consider restricting access as a means to address policy challenges.
Defining “Internet Shutdown”
An Internet shutdown is an intentional disruption of Internet-based communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unavailable, for a specific population, location, or mode of access, often to exert control over the flow of information.[3] Internet shutdowns can happen at a national level, where users across the entire country are unable to access the Internet, or at a subnational (local) level, where mobile and/or fixed Internet access in a state, city, or other localized area is cut off. For the purposes of this briefing document, application/content blocking should be considered separate and distinct. Please refer to Internet Society Perspectives on Content Blocking: An Overview for additional information on such actions.
Where We Are
Internet shutdowns started gaining global attention during the Egypt uprising in 2011, when authorities shut down the Internet for nearly a week to disrupt communications of protestors.[4] Since then, the use of Internet shutdowns as a tool for political purposes has steadily risen: according to Access Now, 196 Internet shutdowns were documented in 2018, growing from 106 in 2017 and 75 in 2016.[5] With 114 shutdowns in 23 countries seen within the first six months of 2019, according to Access Now and the #KeepItOn Coalition, the trend shows no sign of slowing. While the phenomenon is global, current trends indicate that India and Pakistan lead with the most documented shutdowns, followed by the MENA and Sub-Saharan regions.[6] Of these shutdowns, only a fraction are acknowledged by the government or entity that ordered them.
Access Now notes that governments implementing Internet shutdowns historically use similar justifications for ordering shutdowns, but that these rarely match what observers can conclude is the true motivation. In 2018, official rationales included combating “fake news” (properly called disinformation and misinformation), hate speech, and related violence, securing public safety and national security, precautionary measures, and preventing cheating during exams, among others.[7]
Against this backdrop, a growing number of governments, businesses, civil society organizations, technical community bodies, and individuals have been speaking up against Internet shutdowns.[8] The Keep It On! Coalition,[9] for instance, includes over 200 organizations from nearly 100 countries.
Key Considerations
Internet shutdowns have far-reaching technical, economic, and human rights impacts. They undermine users’ trust in the Internet, setting in motion a whole range of consequences for the local economy, the reliability of critical online government services, and even for the reputation of the country itself. Policymakers need to consider these costs alongside security imperatives.
Technical Impact
When a complete Internet shutdown occurs in a given country, the technical impact can extend beyond the country’s borders to the rest of the global Internet. Being part of an interconnected network means having responsibility towards the network as a whole, and shutdowns hold the potential to generate systemic risks.
Intentional physical damage to infrastructure, such as cutting fiber optic cables, is probably the most extreme method of implementing an Internet shutdown. For a number of countries, physical damage to telecommunications cables is particularly problematic because they are transit states.[10]