The Price of Internet Shutdowns: How Middle Eastern Regimes Pay a High Cost

Internet Shutdowns: A Common Tactic of Middle Eastern Authoritarian Regimes in Times of Public Discontent

people playing mobile phones while walking

To quantify the economic damage caused by government-imposed internet blackouts, the Internet Society recently introduced a tool called NetLoss. The organization tracked global internet shutdowns in 2022 and discovered that countries in the Middle East and North Africa progressively tightened restrictions on internet access. In that year, the region experienced 37 shutdowns across 11 countries, a 62% increase from 2021. About 24.3% of these shutdowns targeted messaging and social media platforms. An example provided by the Internet Society indicates that a week-long internet shutdown in Sudan during a violent conflict is estimated to have cost the country more than $3 million and resulted in a loss of 560 jobs.

Internet shutdowns have a negative impact on the economy, according to Marc Owen Jones, an associate professor specializing in digital disinformation at Qatar's Hamad Bin Khalifa University. The Middle East and North Africa region, in particular, does not fare well in terms of economic consequences resulting from internet shutdowns. Such shutdowns have also had a global economic impact, costing billions of dollars in 2022, as reported by Top10VPN, a digital privacy research group. Last year, governments in 23 countries imposed 114 internet shutdowns, resulting in losses exceeding $24.7 billion. In 2023, there have already been 81 shutdowns in 14 countries, costing nearly $2 billion.

Internet shutdowns in the Middle East are often associated with authoritarian regimes, particularly during times of social unrest or conflict. Iran, for instance, experienced a record-long internet shutdown in 2019 that lasted for a week and resulted in an estimated economic loss of over $33 million. The Internet Society calculates these costs based on variables such as the size of the economy and the country's reliance on technology. It aims to demonstrate that internet shutdowns are not a cost-free solution available to governments. The tool allows policymakers to assess the impacts of their decisions regarding internet access.

The internet has become crucial for the economy, supporting various sectors such as ride-hailing services, food delivery, banking, and trade. While the cost estimates provided by the Internet Society are not real-time data, they serve to highlight that internet shutdowns are not without consequences. For example, if Saudi Arabia were to impose a 24-hour blackout, it would cost the country nearly $12 million, along with $1.83 million in lost foreign investment and 38 jobs. In the UAE, a complete internet shutdown would result in a daily economic loss of $4.77 million and around $2 million in lost foreign investment.

Although India had the highest number of government-imposed shutdowns in 2022, the Middle East has seen its fair share as well. While there is a push for digital transformation in the region for economic growth, some governments still perceive internet access as a privilege rather than a right. The Internet Society urges governments to decide whether they want to establish trust in their internet infrastructure or rely on shutdowns, which have proven to be ineffective in quelling protests or preventing cheating on exams. While the economic costs act as a deterrent, security remains a priority for Middle Eastern regimes, leading them to believe that internet shutdowns are beneficial in maintaining control, despite their drawbacks.