"End Internet Shutdowns to Manage COVID-19", 31 March 2020

Governments that are currently imposing an internet shutdown, such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, and Myanmar, should lift them immediately to save lives... "During this global health crisis, shutdowns directly harm people’s health and lives, and undermine efforts to bring the pandemic under control.” [said Deborah Brown, senior digital rights researcher and advocate]... Internet shutdowns can have a greater impact on women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, people with disabilities, and older people who may rely on the internet for online support services... The New Delhi-based Internet Freedom Foundation has called on the government to “make all tools including high speed internet available to doctors and patients to save lives.”

Internet service providers should... push back against unjustified internet shutdowns... by demanding a legal basis for any shutdown order and interpreting requests to cause the least intrusive restrictions. They should prioritize their responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and avoid complicity in human rights abuses, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic...