A/HRC/44/24 19. At least 65 Internet shutdowns took place during protests in 2019, jeopardizing the right of peaceful assembly both online and offline. 38 The interference with access to and the availability and use of the Internet thwarts the capacity of individuals to organize themselves and assemble. Shutdowns have a chilling effect on the right of peaceful assembly as they undermine the publicizing of assemblies and restrict possibilities to mobilize large groups effectively and quickly. Shutdowns also have a negative impact on the right to freedom of expression and access to information39 and are of particular concern in contexts where the traditional media is controlled by the government and where the Internet may be the only space for the free expression of various views. 40 20. In addition to impairing access to information, freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly, the negative economic impact of Internet shutdowns has been estimated to be significant.41 Shutdowns also have severe effects on the ability to realize economic and social rights, given the number of essential activities and services they affect, including access to emergency services, health information, mobile banking, transportation and educational materials. As highlighted by the High Commissioner, shutting down, restricting or blocking the Internet, or placing restrictions on secure and confidential communications, may well exacerbate, rather than curtail, tensions.42 In some countries, links have been drawn between Internet shutdowns and increased levels of violence and unrest, the commission of human rights violations, and an increased sense of fear within communities. 43 All these factors tend to highlight that the negative effects of shutdowns may outweigh any purported benefits for the country concerned.44 21. The High Commissioner has emphasized that blunt measures such as blanket Internet shutdowns, sometimes for prolonged periods, contravene international law, 45 affecting States’ obligations to respect, in addition to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly, a wide range of rights, including freedom of association and of movement and the rights to health and education. These views have been shared by experts from international and regional human rights mechanisms. 46 In its general comment No. 34 (2011) on the freedoms of opinion and expression, the Human Rights Committee stated that any restrictions on the operation of websites, blogs or any other Internet-based, electronic or other such information dissemination system, including systems to support such communication, were only permissible if they were compatible with article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It stated that generic bans on the operation of certain sites and systems were not compatible with paragraph 3. It also noted that it was inconsistent with paragraph 3 to prohibit a site or an information dissemination system from publishing material solely on the basis that it might be critical of the government or the political social system espoused by the government.47 22. The Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy noted that Internet shutdowns had become a disturbing trend in the context of elections, often carried out under the pretext of posing a risk to national security or preventing the spread of hate speech, disinformation or public disorder. 48 Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association recalled that shutdowns and the blocking of entire websites 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 6 Ibid. Contribution of Italy. Contribution of Comisión para los Derechos Humanos del Estado Zulia. www.brookings.edu/research/internet-shutdowns-cost-countries-2-4-billion-last-year/; and www.top10vpn.com/cost-of-internet-shutdowns/. https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/12/548052-silencing-opposition-not-solution-un-rights-chief-saysinternet-blackout-looms. Contribution of Access Now; A/HRC/41/41, para. 51. A/HRC/41/41, para. 53. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24945&LangID=E. See communications AL CMR 2/2017, dated 3 February 2017 (in French); AL CMR 1/2018, dated 25 April 2018 (in French); and UA ETH 5/2016, dated 7 October 2016. Available at spcommreports.ohchr.org. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34 (2011), para. 43. Contribution of the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. See also https://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=294.