20 instances of internet shutdowns in India in 2017: Report

NEW DELHI: India has seen 20 instances of internet shutdowns in 2017, according to legal services organisation Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC). In June itself, there were temporary shutdowns in parts of Madhya Pradesh, and in Nashik, Maharashtra after farmer protests escalated.

Reacting to the spate of shutdowns, international watchdog body Human Rights Watch on Friday called for Indian authorities to “cease arbitrary restrictions of the country’s internet and telecommunications networks.”

SFLC has been tracking Internet shutdowns in India with their website internet shutdowns. in. It recorded 31 instances of internet shutdowns in the country in 2016. Between 2012 and now, it has recorded 79 internet shutdowns in India of varying types and duration.


“Of the 73 shutdowns recorded since 2012, 37 were preventive in nature i.e. imposed in anticipation of a law and order problem, while 36 instances were reactive in nature i.e. imposed in response to an ongoing law and order problem,” says an analysis on internet shutdowns. in. 27 of these 73 shutdowns, it says, lasted for less than a day.

“Authorities’ concerns over the misuse of the internet and social media should not be the default option to prevent social unrest,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director, Human Rights Watch, on Friday.