India saw second-highest number of Internet shutdowns in 2024: Report | India News

NEW DELHI: India witnessed the second-highest number of web shutdowns in 2024, relinquishing its prime place to Myanmar for the primary time since 2018 by only one much less blackout, in accordance with a report launched on Sunday.
The Access Now report stated that Myanmar imposed 85 shut downs final yr adopted by India, which stood at 84 and Pakistan at 21.
“Following closely behind was India with 84 shutdowns, which for the first time since 2018 was not the leading offender but still imposed an unacceptably high number of shutdowns as the world’s largest democracy,” the report stated.
It stated that the 4 offenders with the very best complete number of shutdowns — Myanmar, India, Pakistan and Russia — accounted for 209 circumstances, or 71% of the worldwide complete.

Manipur skilled most blackouts

The ethnic strife-torn state Manipur witnessed the very best number of web blackouts, adopted by Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
“People in 16 states and territories experienced a shutdown, with state government officials in Manipur (21), Haryana (12), and Jammu & Kashmir (12) topping the list of offenders in India. Of the 84, 41 shutdowns were related to protests, and 23 were related to communal violence,” the report stated.
‘Year of democracy’ witnesses highest ballot associated shutdowns since 2019
Dubbed the “year of democracy,” 2024 saw elections in no less than 64 nations, impacting practically half of the world’s inhabitants. However, the yr additionally marked an increase in election-related web shutdowns, with 12 recorded incidents throughout eight nations. This represents the very best yearly complete since 2019, reversing a yearslong decline in such disruptions.
“The year 2024 was deemed a “year of democracy,” as elections took place in at least 64 countries to determine representatives for nearly half of the world’s population. We recorded 12 election related shutdowns in eight countries after a yearslong decrease, documenting the highest yearly total of such shutdowns since 2019,” the report stated.
X tops world platform blocks in 2024
X emerged as essentially the most blocked platform worldwide in 2024, dealing with 24 blocks throughout 14 nations—the very best since 2019, when it was restricted 33 instances.
Meanwhile, TikTok saw a rise in censorship, being blocked 10 instances in 10 nations in 2024, up from six instances in six nations the earlier yr. Three nations—India, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan—have continued their bans into 2025.