internet shutdown

On New Year’s Eve, as the world prepared to ring in 2018, Congolese journalist Edmon Izula was being repeatedly hit with a rifle and threatened at gunpoint by a member of the state security forces. Iluza was one of at least three journalists harassed by authorities that day, in a scenario that has become common…

New York, January 10, 2020–The Indian Supreme Court ordered a review of the legal process used to implement the ongoing shutdown in Indian-controlled Kashmir today. The ruling affirmed that freedom of speech “using the medium of internet is constitutionally protected.”

Miami, January 25, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Venezuelan authorities to stop blocking news outlets and to ensure that access to the internet is available amid the country’s political crisis and widespread protests.

Berlin, January 28, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russia to drop proposed legislation advanced in the country’s parliament that would significantly expand the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) authority to shut down communications, further restricting internet access across the country. On January 27, Russia’s State Duma passed the first read of government-backed amendments to the country’s…

On January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists, along with more than 30 press freedom and human rights organizations, called for urgent protections for journalists, human rights defenders, and others jailed for their writing, expression of opinion, or peaceful assembly amid nationwide protests and internet shutdown. The signatory organizations called on Iranian authorities to immediately…

Paris, January 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to immediately release freelance documentary photographer Navid Zarrehbin Irani, and to halt the systematic harassment and intimidation of journalists in Iran. Irani was arrested on January 16, 2026, at his home in Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi province in northeastern Iran, according…

Ugandan journalist Ssematimba Bwegiire lost consciousness immediately after a security officer electrocuted him with a stun gun and pepper-sprayed him in the mouth. But he did not report the incident, reflecting widespread disillusionment among the media about authorities’ commitment to press freedom in elections on January 15. Bwegiire, a reporter with privately owned Radio Simba,…

Paris, January 13, 2026—Iranian authorities have imposed a near-total internet shutdown as nationwide protests intensify, severely restricting journalists’ ability to report and cutting off communication with the outside world. The blackout began on January 8, more than a week after protests erupted in late December over mounting economic pressure, currency devaluation, and rising living costs….

The Committee to Protect Journalists and the #KeepItOn coalition call on Taliban authorities to pledge no further internet shutdowns in Afghanistan and ensure that citizens have access to information and journalists can continue to do their jobs.  The joint statement issued on October 1 by 66 civil society groups strongly condemned the nationwide internet blackout…

Mexico City, September 3, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists and #KeepItOn coalition partners have called on Nicolás Maduro’s government to stop imposing internet shutdowns and blocking essential communication platforms in Venezuela in response to post-election protests. After Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential contest, authorities shut down the internet and blocked…