![]() The Press Club’s panel of cybersecurity and internet experts was moderated by Rachel Oswald, a foreign policy reporter for CQ Roll Call who is on the Press Club’s press freedom team. The digital rights watchdog group Access Now documented at least 187 internet shutdowns in 2022. In war-torn countries such as Ukraine and Yemen, which ranked second and third, respectively, in the number of web blackouts last year, these shutdowns often coincided with human rights abuses and suspected war crimes. India, where press freedom has noticeably eroded of late, topped this list with 84 shutdown incidents in 2022. For prolonged periods of time, those in power used shutdowns to silence people, often targeting specific communities through complete blackouts, mobile shutdowns, and platform blocking.” “In the midst of unrest and conflict, or just during yearly school examinations, governments, militaries, and police forces kept people in the dark as a desperate means of control. ![]() “Authorities ordered shutdowns for many of the same reasons they have for years, some using the same tired justifications,” Access Now concluded. In that report’s executive summary, it documented at least 187 shutdowns across 35 countries last year - breaking the single-year record for government usage of the internet kill switch. The conversation started with a recap of some troubling trends that were identified in the 2022 report on internet shutdowns by the digital rights watchdog group Access Now. Web blackouts were driven by a few core motives when trying to control information and the press. At this recent webinar, the group dug into privacy solutions and survival strategies for journalists who live and work inside authoritarian countries or are reporting on these locations from afar. In honor of Sunshine Week - an initiative launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors to promote open government - the US National Press Club brought together a panel of experts to discuss the state of digital privacy and internet freedom. ![]() Global Investigative Journalism Network. Global Shining Light Award – Українською.Global Investigative Journalism Network.
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