We all figured the tide was turning on digital blackouts after years of outcry. Wrong. 2025's record 313 shutdowns prove governments are doubling down on silencing dissent.
Voters in Uganda stared at blank screens on election day, cut off for five straight days. It's not a glitch; it's policy, and 2026's polls are primed for more.
Not one day in 2025 went internet-free somewhere in Asia Pacific. 195 shutdowns across 11 countries crushed voices, aid, and innovation—half the globe's total.
Tehran's streets echo with distant blasts, but inside homes, screens stay black. Access Now is raging against Iran's 12-day internet shutdown, demanding lights back on amid escalating war.