In 2024, Pakistan ranked first globally for the financial losses incurred due to internet and social media app outages and shutdowns, with a total loss of $ 1.62 billion. This figure surpassed the losses of countries like Sudan and Myanmar, which are experiencing civil wars.
According to a report by Top10VPN.com, an independent VPN reviewer, the worldwide internet disruptions lasted for a total of 88,788 hours, leading to a combined financial loss of $ 7.69 billion as reported by Dawn.
The data, released on Thursday, focused solely on the financial impact of intentional internet shutdowns, including total blackouts, social media restrictions, and throttling, which occurred 167 times in 28 countries.According to the Dawn, Simon Migliano, Head of Research at Top10VPN.com, described these deliberate outages as extreme forms of internet censorship that not only violate citizens’ digital rights but also constitute self-destructive acts for national economies. While the total cost of internet shutdowns decreased by 15.8 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, their duration increased by 12 per cent. In 2023, 196 shutdowns across 25 countries lasted 79,238 hours and resulted in a loss of $ 9.01 billion.
In 2024, Top10VPN.com tracked 18 instances of intentional internet shutdowns in Pakistan, driven by three main factors: elections, “information control,” and protests. These disruptions lasted a total of 9,735 hours and affected 82.9 million users.The most costly disruption was the ongoing shutdown of the social media platform X, which began on February 18, with an estimated impact of $ 1.34 billion. The second-highest cost was associated with the internet shutdown in Balochistan, which lasted from July 16 to August 21 in response to protests by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee in Gwadar, costing Dollar 11.8 million over 864 hours.
The report used the Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST), developed by NetBlocks, an online platform monitoring internet censorship. COST estimates the economic impact of internet shutdowns based on methodologies from the Brookings Institution and CIPESA, a digital rights group funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID).
