Publication Date:
January 2021
Research and Editorial Team:
Samuel Woodhams, Simon Migliano for Top10VPN
The Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns in 2020
Key findings:
- $4.01BN: economic cost of internet shutdowns globally in 2020, down by 50% from 2019
- 93 major shutdowns took place in 21 countries in 2020
- 27,165 hours: total duration of major disruptions around the world, up 49% from the previous year.
- Internet blackouts: 10,693 hours
- Internet throttling: 10,920 hours
- Social media shutdowns: 5,552 hours
- 268M people affected by major disruptions in 2020, up 3% year-on-year
- India most economically-impacted nation, at a cost of $2.8BN
- Human rights impact: 42% of shutdowns were associated with additional abuses
- 29% of all disruptions associated with restrictions on freedom of assembly
- 15% with election interference
- 12% with infringements on freedom of the press
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