India Records Second Highest Internet Shutdowns After Iran: Report

India is the second country after Iran that has imposed the highest number of internet shutdowns until June this year, a new report has revealed, in what is seen as yet another blow to the country's commitment to freedom of speech and access to information.

Privacy protection company, Surfshark revealed that there were 42 new internet disruptions during the first half of 2023 globally, with India responsible for 9 of them. Iran, which which topped the list had 14 such cases.

"Iran, India, and Pakistan were the top three countries leading in new internet restrictions for the first half of 2023. This is hardly surprising given that Asia has long been the focal point of internet shutdowns, with these nations ranking 2nd, 1st, and 4th, respectively, in terms of restriction counts globally since 2015," according to the report.

"Iran had the most internet disruptions in the first half of 2023, with 14 cases in total. All of these occurred in Zahedan during Friday protests over the Zahedan massacre," it said.

"India closely trailed Iran, with 9 recorded cases of internet restrictions. The majority of these restrictions happened during protests," it added.

"Pakistan ranked third in internet disruptions in the first half of 2023, with 3 recorded cases. These were sparked following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan," the report further stated.

Notably, violence-hit Manipur is facing an internet ban since May 3 even as there were multiple petitions at different courts, calling for lifting the ban.

This comes over a month after a report by the Human Rights Watch and Internet Freedom Foundation stated that since 2018, India has shut down the internet more than any other country in the world.

Of 28 states in the country, 18 shut down the internet at least once in the last three years. Eleven states out of these-Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana-did not publish suspension orders as directed by the Supreme Court.

"The local authorities used shutdowns in 54 cases to prevent or in response to protests, 37 to prevent cheating in school examinations or in exams for government jobs, 18 in response to communal violence, and 18 for other law and order concerns," the report highlighted.

"India was responsible for the most shutdowns in 2022, for the fifth consecutive year, with 84 shutdowns out of 187 globally. While this report covers shutdowns up until December 2022, in March 2023, the entire state of Punjab had been placed under a three-day mobile internet blackout to track down a separatist leader. In May, the internet was completely blocked on both mobile and fixed line services in Manipur state for weeks following violent ethnic clashes," the report said.