These blackouts are "an agonizing indicator of the willingness of government authorities to disconnect and deepen the suffering of their own people." 

The real cost of internet shutdowns in South Asia These blackouts are "an agonizing indicator of the willingness of government authorities to disconnect and deepen the suffering of their own people." Yawar Nazir/Getty Images Hi, I'm Itika, Rest of World's South Asia editor! I'm filling in for Nilesh this week so he can have a well-deserved break. The World Wide Web turned 33 last month, so I spent some time reading the arguments in favor of declaring the internet a basic human right. The ideas seem fantastical to me, sitting in South Asia, where the internet increasingly feels like the personal estate of governments that decide to shut off access whenever it suits them. In recent years, the governments in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have restricted internet access for their citizens for reasons ranging from suppressing dissent and controlling the flow of information to discouraging cheating during school exams. In 2021, India, the most populous country in South Asia, was responsible for the highest number of internet shutdowns globally — for a fourth consecutive year, according to a recently released report by digital rights nonprofit Access Now. In Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), 4.5 million people could not access the internet for over 2,000 days between 2016 and 2021. And just last month, Sri Lanka blocked social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Viber, among others, to contain protests over the ongoing economic crisis. This isn't about not being able to endlessly scroll through social media. These internet shutdowns have serious ramifications. They are "an agonizing indicator of the willingness of government authorities to disconnect and deepen the suffering of their own people," Access Now said. In Pakistan's FATA, internet shutdowns "almost destroyed the education, healthcare, and business opportunities for the already isolated local groups, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic." Last week, as part of Rest of World's exhaustive project on internet blackouts, we published a story about India's Kashmir region, which saw 85 internet shutdowns in 2021. The story lays out what the inability to access the internet can do to small businesses and the dreams of regular people.   — Itika Sharma Punit Tweet Forward ▰ ▰ ▰ Three things Banned on YouTube: The Indian government last week banned 16 YouTube channels — 10 Indian and six Pakistani — for spreading false information. This comes just a few weeks after the Narendra Modi government banned 22 other channels on the video streaming platform for the same reasons. Another win for Pakistan: SadaPay has become Pakistan's most-funded fintech startup, after raising $10.7 million. The company also secured a long-awaited commercial license from the State Bank of Pakistan. India-EU trade and tech council: After 15 years of deliberations, India and the European Union have decided to launch a joint trade and technology council, which will allow the two partners to work together in the fields of 5G, artificial intelligence, climate modeling, and health-related tech. The U.S. is the only other country that has a similar pact with the EU. ▰ ▰ ▰  Courtesy of Kalsoom Lakhani ICYMI By now, you probably know how obsessed we are with what's happening in the Pakistani tech startup ecosystem. As Tiger Global made its third investment in the country within five months, we decided to sit down (virtually) for an in-depth conversation with Kalsoom Lakhani, the co-founder of one of the earliest Pakistan-focused VC funds, i2i Ventures. Read the interview to get the lowdown on the good, bad, and ugly of what's happening on the ground.   ▰ ▰ ▰ Before you go Now that we know how internet shutdowns impact people, here's why India is the world's internet shutdown capital — in figures: One time in 2021, the Indian government shut down the internet for "visits by officials." Two times in 2021, the Indian government shut down the internet during a public holiday. Three times in 2021, the Indian government shut down the internet to exert control over the flow of information. Four times in 2021, the Indian government shut down the internet to prevent cheating during school exams. Five ways you can stay online during a government internet shutdown.   Thank you for reading. Please forward this to a friend and do reach out to us via southasia@restofworld.org. restofworld.org Past Issues • Unsubscribe   Follow us on Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn