"The infrastructure of a shutdown, and the aftermath of one, generates value for companies and governments that publicly condemn the practice while quietly benefiting from or enabling it. The less obvious answer involves a network of corporate intermediaries, surveillance vendors, and geopolitical actors who profit from the chaos in ways that rarely make headlines."
"Governments issue orders to telecommunications companies, who then throttle or block traffic at key network exchange points. In many countries, especially across Africa and South Asia, a handful of licensed ISPs control nearly all connectivity. These companies comply because their licenses depend on it, because the legal frameworks compel them, or because the executives have relationships with the ruling class that make refusal unthinkable."
Internet shutdowns involve complex networks of actors beyond authoritarian governments. Telecommunications companies comply with government orders to throttle or block traffic at network exchange points, often because their licenses depend on compliance or due to relationships with ruling classes. Hundreds of documented shutdowns occurred globally in 2023 alone, disproportionately targeting regions with ethnic minorities and active resistance. The infrastructure and aftermath of shutdowns generate value for multiple players including corporate intermediaries and surveillance vendors who publicly condemn the practice while quietly benefiting from or enabling it. This creates a political economy of disconnection that implicates far more participants than any single authoritarian regime.
#internet-shutdowns #political-economy #telecommunications-infrastructure #surveillance-and-control #corporate-complicity
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