89% of the APAC population has faced internet restrictions

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is one of the hardest hit by internet restrictions. A shocking 89% of the region’s population has experienced them since 2015, either during protests, elections, other political turmoil, or because of internet laws. With long-term restrictions spanning decades and new ones happening frequently, Surfshark takes a deep dive into the region using its Internet Shutdown Tracker.

Key insights

• Nearly half (28 out of 58) of examined APAC countries and territories have imposed internet restrictions since 2015. They impacted 89% of the total APAC population. Half of these countries have ongoing restrictions, some decade-long. For instance, China banned foreign social media platforms back in 2009¹, and these restrictions are still in place.
• Since 2015, 585 internet restrictions have been recorded in APAC countries. Protests are the leading cause of these restrictions, with 192 cases linked to them—India alone accounts for 85 of protest-related cases. 31 restrictions happened amid elections, as was the case in Bangladesh during the 2018 parliamentary elections². 12 cases were related to internet laws, while the 350 remaining cases happened amid other types of political turmoil.
• Out of the recorded cases, 75 were targeted at social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp are blocked the most in this region. Facebook was restricted 36 times by 16 of the 28 countries, Instagram - 26 times by 14 countries, and Whatsapp—24 times by 19 countries.

Methodology and sources

Drawing on data from our Internet Shutdown Tracker, we analyzed the countries that are confirmed to have restricted the internet either presently or in the past. We looked closer at the reasons for these restrictions, the number of people affected, and the services targeted in the APAC region.

Note: Surfshark's analysis includes APAC countries based on the UN's official list, as well as additional territories within the APAC region monitored by the Internet Shutdown Tracker.

Data was collected from:

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