It’s official, 2024 was the worst year on record for internet shutdowns. From full communications blackouts during conflicts to sweeping platform blocks, internet shutdowns in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) underpinned the crackdown on human rights in the region and a broader strategy to control information and silence dissent.
Launching today, February 24, 2025, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition’s new report, Emboldened offenders, endangered communities: internet shutdowns in 2024, exposes how authorities imposed at least 296 internet shutdowns in 54 countries, causing chaos across borders, exacerbating trauma during conflict, and fracturing the lives of millions of people around the globe.
In the MENA region, 41 shutdowns were imposed in 17 countries in 2024. Although the total number of shutdowns notably decreased from 2023 (77), the number of affected countries increased from 15 to 17 — underscoring the alarming rise of digital impunity throughout the region.
The 2024 #KeepItOn report exposes an alarming reality: digital repression in the MENA region is not only persisting but expanding. More governments are weaponizing internet blackouts and platform bans to silence dissent, control narratives, and isolate communities — especially during conflicts and critical events. Cutting off connectivity is a direct attack on fundamental rights. It’s more urgent than ever to hold offenders accountable and defend open and secure digital spaces for all.Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy and Advocacy Director at Access Now
Key regional findings:
- The leading tactic: authorities in 10 countries deployed 18 platform blocks to censor and control information;
- The violence: the digital sphere emerged as the new battleground for warring parties, which imposed 12 shutdowns during armed conflicts, undermining the safety and dignity of civilians;
- The biggest offender: Israel imposed six internet shutdowns, the highest in the MENA region, during its war on Gaza in 2024. Despite international condemnation, Israeli forces systematically shut down Gaza’s internet while destroying internet and telecommunications infrastructure;
- The civil war in Sudan: both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) weaponized shutdowns at least four times — cutting off millions from emergency services, humanitarian aid, and essential communications;
- Alarming developments: the hacker group Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility for cyberattacks that caused shutdowns in Bahrain, Chad, and Israel. The region also witnessed its first election-related shutdown since 2021 when Mauritania imposed a shutdown following presidential elections; and
- #NoExamShutdown: despite continued pushback from civil society, the region led the world in exam-related shutdowns. In 2024, authorities disrupted internet services 10 times in five countries — Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Mauritania, and Syria — under the pretext of preventing exam cheating.
For the second year in a row, authorities and warring parties wielded an unprecedented number of internet shutdowns as a weapon of war and a tool for collective punishment — hurling communities into digital darkness and concealing grave human rights abuses. As internet access becomes consistently weaponized, restricted, and precarious, we are seeing pervasive patterns of crushing censorship and an urgent need for greater accountability. No single stakeholder can end internet shutdowns alone. The time to act is now.Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now
Access the full report, global snapshot, and shutdowns dashboard.