Internet Shutdowns and the Law
When governments order the internet off: legal justifications, international law, accountability, and why no VPN can restore a full shutdown.
Topic
Internet shutdowns
4 articles in the Atlas on internet shutdowns - Internet Shutdowns and the Law; Internet Censorship in Iran. When governments order the internet off: legal justifications…
4 articles
Part of Digital Rights & Internet Freedom · Search this topic
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Internet Censorship in Iran
Inside Iran's internet controls in 2026: national shutdowns, DNS and SNI filtering, throttling, tiered access, and what still gets through.
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Internet Censorship in Russia
How Russia filters the internet in 2026: TSPU inspection, VPN blocking, mobile whitelist shutdowns, and what still gets through.
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How Often Do Countries Shut Down the Internet?
What an internet shutdown is, who orders one, and what the record shows: 313 documented shutdowns across 52 countries in 2025, the highest since tracking began in 2016.