<
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/22/digital-hopes-real-power-the-rise-of-network-shutdowns/>
"Iran’s internet has been intermittently disrupted for months. After years of
bombardment, Gaza’s telecommunications infrastructure remains fragile. In
India, recurring shutdowns and throttling have become a routine response to
protests and unrest, cutting millions off from news, work, and basic services.
Across dozens of other countries, governments increasingly treat connectivity
itself as something that can be weaponized—cut, slowed, or selectively restored
to shape what people can see, say, and share. In 2024 alone, authorities
imposed 304 internet shutdowns across 54 countries—the highest number ever
recorded.
In 2011, when protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, and beyond used social media to
broadcast their uprisings to the world, many observers heralded a new era of
networked freedom. Governments, however, responded quickly by developing and
refining systems of control that have only grown more sophisticated over time.
Today’s landscape of regulation, blackouts, and degraded networks reflects that
trajectory, as early experiments in censorship and disruption have hardened
into a durable system of control—what began as an emergency measure has become
a normalized infrastructure of control."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
