Internet Blackouts

Based on interviews with more than 70 experts, this project looks at how governments and companies are undermining the freedom and stability of the internet.

Two check marks side by side; one is gray and the other is bright blue, set against a light blue background.

Ideas 6 March 2026

Waiting for the check marks: The reality of connecting with family in Iran

For the Iranian diaspora, maintaining contact with family requires dealing with communication blackouts, constant surveillance, and the emotional roller-coaster tied to a message's delivery status.

By Bahareh Sahebi

Internet Blackouts 26 April 2022

Internet blackouts are hiding an ongoing human rights catastrophe

“The level of atrocities that have gone unspoken in Myanmar have been quite shocking.”

By Nu Nu Lusan and Emily Fishbein

Internet Blackouts 26 April 2022

“As important as water is to life”: How internet blackouts stifled Kashmir’s digital economy

The Indian government is a world leader in shutting down the internet. Jammu and Kashmir has suffered more than most.

By Zenaira Bakhsh and Rayan Naqash

Internet Blackouts 26 April 2022

“It’s like being under siege”: How DDoS became a censorship tool

From the Philippines to Iran, constant distributed denial-of-service attacks are used to intimidate and wear down independent media.

Internet Blackouts 26 April 2022

Five ways to stay online during a government internet shutdown

With deliberate network shutdowns and restrictions on the rise, here’s how to stay safe and connected.

By Vittoria Elliott

Internet Blackouts 26 April 2022

In the dark

Seven years, 60 countries, 935 internet shutdowns: How authoritarian regimes found an off switch for dissent.