Internet shutdowns are
widely viewed as an attack on human rights
. But that wasn’t always the case. A decade ago, civil society groups
joined forces to push back
against deliberate network disruptions, and today, the
resistance to shutdowns
is stronger than ever. As Access Now and the #KeepItOn community mark the 10th anniversary of the
#KeepItOn campaign
in 2026, we’re reflecting on the path travelled so far — and the journey still to come as we
continue to fight to #KeepItOn around the world
.
Read on for a look at
how the #KeepItOn campaign started
,
how it has evolved
, and
how you can join us
to support and celebrate the work of the
#KeepItOn coalition
.
How it started
Ten years ago, there were no strong global norms condemning internet shutdowns. The groups fighting shutdowns were only loosely connected, and the lack of coordination made it difficult to get a global picture of the many harms people were experiencing — even as governments disconnected entire communities, disrupted business and daily life, undermined election integrity, exacerbated humanitarian crises, and attempted to hide grave human rights abuses and violations.
That’s why Access Now and our partners convened a session to develop a
shared definition for an internet shutdown
at
RightsCon Silicon Valley
in 2016 — a first step toward a common method for tracking shutdowns all around the world. As an outcome of that meeting, Access Now and 70 organizations later publicly committed to fighting shutdowns,
formally launching
the #KeepItOn campaign. Our goal: to unite ongoing efforts to resist shutdowns around the world, to increase awareness of the harms they cause, and finally, to end shutdowns altogether.
Within a year of the launch, we saw exciting progress: in July 2016, the UN Human Rights Council heeded our call to denounce internet shutdowns as a human rights violation, adopting the
first of many UN resolutions
that have condemned these disruptions and conf
… [more]
