Bangladesh 5th in the world

Bangladesh stood fifth in the world in terms of internet shutdowns, a new report has revealed, in what critics say is yet another blow to the country’s commitment to freedom of speech and access to information.

Bangladesh had to face internet shutdowns 6 times in 2022, placing the country in 5th place among 35 where internet shutdowns occur during this time, according to a recent report by digital rights advocacy firm Access Now.

The total number of shutdowns in 2022 across the world was 187, excluding India, which took the measures 103 times.

The sequence of the shutdowns recorded globally by Access Now from the top are India (84), Ukraine (22), Iran (18), Myanmar (7), Bangladesh (6), Jordan (4), Libya (4), Sudan (4), and Turkmenistan (4).

In 2022, the New York-based Access Now documented at least 187 shutdowns across 35 countries — breaking our record for the number of countries to hit the kill switch in a single year.

In the Asia Pacific region, there were 102 shutdowns--mobile internet in 82 shutdowns and Broadband internet in 16 shutdowns.

Afghanistan was recorded with 2 shutdowns, China with 1, and Pakistan with 1 and Sri Lanka with 1.

If we set aside the figures from India, a unique case solely with 84 shutdowns, 2022 was also the year with the highest total number of shutdowns in the rest of the world to date.

Authorities in Bangladesh, Cuba, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe imposed 62 shutdowns during protests in 2022, approaching the pre-pandemic watermark of 65 shutdowns recorded during protests in 2019.

The report said 62 shutdowns in 16 countries occurred during protests, 8 shutdowns in 6 countries “to prevent exam cheating”, 33 shutdowns during active conflicts, and 5 shutdowns in 5 countries tied to elections.

Grave human rights abuses and violence shrouded by shutdowns are on the rise, it also said.