The world’s largest democracy has suffered the worst cases of Internet shutdowns in the world as per the reports from Access Now, a digital rights group has reported that India alone had about 134 of 196 documented shutdowns in 2018 around the world.
India is the world’s second-largest internet market with more than 650 million connected users and expanding at a high rate.
The report also reveals that 25 countries around the world and countries in Asia and Africa are the most impacted. In 2016, 75 internet shutdowns were counted, 106 internet shutdowns were counted in 2017.
Officials say that “Social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube are likely to be used for spreading of rumors and also for transmission of information like pictures, videos, and text that have the potential to inflame passions and thus exacerbate the law and order situation.”
Another report from Internet Shutdowns, a service operated by New Delhi-based digital advocacy group Software Law and Freedom Centre says that there have been about 91 documented cases of internet shutdowns in India this year.
In Jammu and Kashmir government of India shut down the internet for 133 days after removing the Muslim majority territory of its autonomy on 5th August currently the service has been partially restored in the state.
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