Blocking first and then blocking access to social media and in news reports, Russia ranked first as the most expensive internet blocker in 2022, according to tech company “Top 10 VPNs.”
The internet data company estimated the economic cost of shutting down the internet at $21.6 billion in the country between the invasion of Ukraine in February and the end of the year. As the checkpoints are in across the country, the large number of people affected drives up the bill.
The estimated cost of internet throttling puts Russia ahead of second-placed Iran, where last year’s sustained anti-government protests were met with excessive force and frequent internet shutdowns by authorities, according to Statista, which is been seen from News Agency .
About 72 million people were affected at an economic cost of $773 million. Kazakhstan comes in third after shutting down the internet in the wake of early 2022 protests over fuel prices that caused more than $400 million in economic damage.
While Myanmar was the country that shut down the internet for the longest period in 2022: more than 17,500 hours. The blockades – mostly targeted at the country’s “West Chin” state bordering Bangladesh – were ranked as the fourth most expensive.
Nigeria lifted its ban on Twitter earlier this year, but it still affected more than 100 million people in January in across the country and incurred an economic cost of $83 million. While Ethiopia saw long lockdowns of nearly 9,000 hours last year as authorities targeted the civil war-ravaged Tigray region, fewer people were affected and costs remained around $146 million despite the ongoing nature of the restrictions.
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