Internet Shutdowns and the Suppression of Democracy

By Hanna Wahab

Throughout history, there have been moments of citizen uprising and dissatisfaction against governments and those in power, who were committing atrocious acts against their own people. One would expect that the response of the decision-makers would be to listen to the needs of their own people and pass laws to protect them. Yet this is never the case. In most, if not all instances, those very people in power feel as if their power and authority are under threat, so they take steps to suppress citizens, whether through force, threats of imprisonment, and a common one of all - internet shutdowns or social media bans.

In recent years, the power and significance of the internet have grown, reaching all over the world, for campaigning, spreading the word, reaching organisations, and more. Yet from all over the world, from the Republic of the Congo to Iran to Myanmar and countless others, there have been internet shutdowns, to prevent anyone from reaching the outside world. Statistics show that at least 182 internet shutdowns took place in 34 countries by 2021.

In April of 2021, Myanmar underwent a military coup in which the military had begun an internet shutdown, where nothing could reach the country via the network, and vice versa. Before this, many people protested against this coup, and the military responded with force and imposing fear like most do, they began with physically suppressing the people, and as of September 2022, over 15K people were arrested, but the people did not give up, anti-coup groups were formed, nationwide dissent was demonstrated and protests were taking place, no one gave up on denouncing a power that was not for the people, but in the moments before the shutdown, citizens of Myanmar were trying to reach the outside for help, and to contact their families abroad, when the shutdown happened, people who were not residing in the country tried to reach their friends and family when they could not, they took their worries on social media, where they voiced their outrages on behalf of Myanmar citizens. As of September 2022, 15 blackouts happened, now being called “the new normal” with citizens' inability to share to the world their fears. “We Myanmar people are in the dark now” are the thoughts of most of the people living under the internet shutdowns, with no way to access any information, contact friends and family, and no way to predict if the military will turn up outside their homes, they are most definitely living in the dark, and in fear.

So why does this happen? The importance of the internet has grown drastically, people now use this tool to inform themselves of important news, what’s going on around them, and to keep in contact with friends and family. However, with the growth of the internet, there comes the growth of shutdowns, and control. That is one word to describe the intent behind this action, control. It prevents freedom of expression, it is a part of democracy but a threat to dictatorship. With the internet, comes readily available access to unlimited information, including information about democracy and rights. Information is the most powerful tool to go against a dictatorship, but without this, a dictatorship can grow more and more powerful, and this is why internet shutdowns happen, and the dictator moves to limit the power of the people.