Tactic
Shutdowns and blocking
A government cuts internet or mobile telephone service, blocks news websites or social media platforms, or jams radio and television signals, so that audiences cannot receive news and reporters cannot send it out.
The earliest incident in the record using this tactic is dated 1 January 1917.
The ladder for shutdowns and blocking: where this tactic has led, stage by stage
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
Incidents by country and year
Argentina, RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1951 | Argentina: President Juan Perón's government hands the expropriated newspaper La Prensa to the CGT labor federation, October 1951 | Silence | Juan Perón | Sustained (1 October 1951) |
Australia, RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 April 1944 | Australia's wartime government seizes a Sydney newspaper edition under press controls rules | Silence | John Curtin | Reversed (18 April 1944) |
Belarus, RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May 2021 | Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist' | Silence | Alexander Lukashenko | Sustained |
Chile, RSF 2026 rank: 70th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 September 1973 | Chile's military government shuts opposition radio stations and newspapers after the 1973 coup | Silence | Augusto Pinochet | Sustained (1 March 1990) |
Czechia, RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 August 1968 | Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press controls | Silence | Alexander Dubček | Reversed (1 November 1989) |
Ethiopia, RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2020 | Ethiopia: internet and phone service cut across Tigray | Silence | Abiy Ahmed | Ongoing (3 May 2021) |
India, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 August 2019 | India imposes a communications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after revoking the region's special status | Silence | Narendra Modi | Ongoing (5 August 2020) |
| 21 August 2023 | India: Gaon Savera's Facebook and X accounts blocked | Silence | Narendra Modi | Unknown |
Iran, RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 June 2009 | Iran expels a BBC correspondent and restricts foreign journalists after a disputed 2009 election | Punish | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Unknown |
| 16 November 2019 | Iran: near-total internet shutdown during fuel-price protests | Silence | Hassan Rouhani | Reversed (23 November 2019) |
Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2021 | Myanmar: military cuts mobile internet after seizing power | Silence | Min Aung Hlaing | Ongoing (3 May 2021) |
Philippines, RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 1972 | Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial law | Silence | Ferdinand Marcos | Reversed (25 February 1986) |
Poland, RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 December 1981 | Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight | Silence | Wojciech Jaruzelski | Reversed (22 July 1983) |
Russia, RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 March 2022 | Russia: regulator blocks BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle and other outlets | Silence | Vladimir Putin | Sustained (4 March 2022) |
| 4 March 2022 | Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison | Punish | Vladimir Putin | Sustained |
South Africa, RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 November 1985 | South Africa bans television and photographic coverage of unrest under a state of emergency | Silence | P. W. Botha | Reversed (1 June 1990) |
Tanzania, RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 October 2025 | Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest | Silence | Samia Suluhu Hassan | Unknown |
United Kingdom, RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1926 | United Kingdom: Government requisitions newsprint and restricts rival newspapers during the 1926 General Strike | Pressure | Stanley Baldwin | Ongoing (10 May 1926) |
United States, RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | United States convicts Mother Earth editor Emma Goldman of draft conspiracy and bars her magazine from the mail | Punish | Woodrow Wilson | Upheld by a court (14 January 1918) |
| 1917 | United States Postmaster General Burleson strips the Milwaukee Leader of its mailing rate | Silence | Woodrow Wilson | Upheld by a court (7 March 1921) |
| July 1917 | United States postmaster bars the magazine The Masses from the mail under the Espionage Act | Silence | Woodrow Wilson | Upheld by a court (1 November 1917) |
Venezuela, RSF 2026 rank: 159th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July 2024 | Venezuela detains, expels and restricts journalists after disputed 2024 election | Punish | Nicolas Maduro | Sustained |