New Study Delves Into the Internet Shutdowns of Bangladesh’s 2024 Uprising - Digitally Right

This document is a report by Digitally Right Limited and OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference) examining the internet shutdowns that occurred during Bangladesh's student-led uprising from July 15 to August 5, 2024 — the country's longest internet shutdown at 22 days. The report reconstructs a verified timeline of the shutdowns, maps how they were enforced across different network layers, and assesses their implications for human rights and accountability. Main Topics Covered Scale and tactics: The shutdown involved multiple control methods including nationwide blackouts, bandwidth throttling, cache server deactivations, and social media/VPN blocking Correlation with violence: The most intense network disruptions coincided with spikes in casualties during the protests Governance and opacity: Shutdowns were executed through informal directives (including via WhatsApp) by multiple overlapping government bodies (BTRC, NTMC, DoT) with little transparency ISP involvement: Internet service providers and mobile operators were instructed to implement restrictions, often through verbal or informal orders Circumvention crackdown: Authorities actively blocked VPNs and other tools used to bypass restrictions The report concludes that internet shutdowns functioned as a central state tool to suppress dissent and control information during the political crisis that ultimately led to Sheikh Hasina's fall from power.

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Digitally Right

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Digitally Right

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