Government Internet Shutdowns in 2016

Governments shut down the Internet more than 50 times during 2016 for a variety of reasons, from affecting elections and limiting opposition communications, to what was justified as stopping students from cheating on their exams. Consequences can be far more serious than just inconvenience to Internet users. They can include millions of dollars of economic losses and perpetration of human rights violations. Experts suggest that UN agencies like the ITU could assist by issuing statements in response to specific incidents.