Government-ordered internet shutdowns cost countries a combined $2.4 billion in lost GDP per year, according to a new report by the Center of Technology Innovation at Brooking.
According to report author Darrell West, the Institute’s vice president and director of Governance Studies and founding director, the trend for internet shutdowns ordered by governments is rising.
Often people cite China as the leading proponent for internet disruptions as an information control tactic. However, West showed that other countries are following suit, with India leading the pack with 22 instances of internet disruptions for the period of July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.
The figure aligns with another report by non-profit Freedom House entitled Freedom of the Net.
The 2016 report noted that internet freedom declined globally for the sixth consecutive year, stating that more than two-third of internet users now live in countries where criticism is censored and heavily penalized, while 38 countries arrested social media users in 2015.
According to West, governments in many countries seem to be comfortable in blocking access to online services and apps when needed, despite the disruption to economic activity.
Many of the restrictions are politically motivated, some are designed to ease social disorder and a few restrict personal activities, like cheating on an exam.
The reasons may be varied, and for some governments substantiated, but the overall impact on e-commerce and the rising online advertising market is grave.
While the internet promises a level playing field for smaller or regional companies on a global scale, these restrictions or blocks can be disruptive for marketing campaigns. Recouping wasted ad dollar is also difficult when governments or local telecommunications providers are the ones driving most of the restrictions.
There are solutions that can mitigate the damage, like service monitoring tools like Catchpoint. Nevertheless, it is a risk that regional and global CMOs must face up to as the internet becomes an uneasy business platform for governments.