Internet Shutdowns Reach Widespread Global Affect, Cost $7.69 Billion in 2024

In a year marked by increased frequency and duration of internet shutdowns, governments worldwide continued to rely on this tactic to exert control over citizens, with a staggering cost of $7.69 billion incurred across 28 countries.

Pakistan was once again the most affected nation, accounting for $1.62 billion in economic losses, followed closely by Myanmar ($1.58 billion) and Sudan ($1.12 billion). The country with the lowest impact saw India incur just $4.01 billion in costs.

According to data from Top10VPN, 167 internet shutdowns occurred worldwide in 2024, lasting a total of 88,788 hours - a 12% increase from the previous year. This unprecedented level of disruption impacted over 648.4 million people, making it the highest recorded figure since the available data.

Experts attributed social media blocks to be the most extreme form of internet censorship, which cannot even be circumvented using Virtual Private Network (VPN) apps due to its widespread impact.

"The longer and more prolonged such shutdowns are, citizens suffer greatly" noted Simon Migliano, Head of Research at Top10VPN. "In contrast, as seen in Senegal, internet restrictions may occur once then disappear after short time frame - a positive turning point for the nation’s digital wellbeing."

Among other regions affected by government restrictions were:

• Iraq: suffered the highest number of internet shutdowns due to ongoing schooling.

The primary cause for reasons behind this global epidemic varied. The majority cited civil conflict and security-related issues that led these countries towards a restrictive stance.

In contrast, some notable exceptions observed in 2024 were an eventual decrease in overall restrictions against citizens worldwide, as witnessed through examples like "Pakistan’s shutdown of X generating a lot of attention, whereas longer disruptions to regional Myanmar and Azerbaijan gradually slipped off global agendas."

Meanwhile, top social media platforms including TikTok and Twitter faced widespread blocks across the globe.