The #KeepItOn Coalition, a network that brings together hundreds of civil society organisations and allies from around the world to fight for an end to internet shutdowns, on March 31, 2026, released the 2025 report of Internet shutdowns around the world, which it describes as record-breaking and devastating.
Titled Rising repression meets global resistance: Internet shutdowns in 2025, the report documented over 313 shutdowns across 52 countries, surpassing the 2024 record of 304 shutdowns in 55 countries. The report found that, for the third year in a row, conflict remained the highest trigger for shutdowns. The year 2025 confirms the dramatic rise of shutdowns as a means and method of warfare to silence dissent, terrorise communities, conceal abuses, and collectively punish entire populations.
However, the report finds that although the findings are disturbing, there’s a silver lining: the global resistance to Internet shutdown is growing, with civil society fighting back harder than ever against digital authoritarianism.
The report finds that the world’s leading offender, for the second year in a row, is the Asian country, Myanmar, which recorded the highest number of shutdowns, with at least 95 instances documented. Seven countries: Albania, Angola, Cambodia, Lithuania, Panama, Papua New Guinea, and the United States, for the first time, joined the list.
The report recorded 125 conflict-related shutdowns across 14 countries, marking 40% of the global total. At least 70 shutdowns coincided with grave human rights abuses, including murder, torture, rape, or apparent war crimes and atrocities, in 21 countries.
Additionally, there was a sharp increase in cutting alternative connectivity with perpetrators shutting down Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet systems 14 times across seven countries, compared to four such shutdowns in 2024. This happened in Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Tanzania, and Yemen.
There was some good news in the midst of these shutdowns: Bangladesh took steps toward outlawing shutdowns; South Sudanese authorities rescinded the nation’s social media ban after pushback; the International Criminal Court recognised the link between internet shutdowns and crimes against humanity; and civil society continued to speak out and bring shutdown cases to courts of law.
Ms Felicia Anthonio, the #Keepiton Global Campaign Manager at AccessNow, speaking during the report release, said, “Year after year, authorities seek the power to influence elections, silence and isolate people, and attack our rights with impunity behind the digital armour of deliberate internet shutdowns. Not one of the 365 days of 2025 passed without perpetrators wielding shutdowns to lock entire populations out of communication, education, information, democratic participation, and emergency services. While people are meeting this growing repression with increasing resistance, we demand accountability. This flagrant disregard for human rights will not be our new world order.”
The report can be downloaded here.
