Ayalew: Between Shut It Off and Keep It On: The Legality of Internet Shutdowns under International Law

Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew has published Between Shut It Off and Keep It On: The Legality of Internet Shutdowns under International Law (Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 59, no. 3, 2026). Here's the abstract:

Internet shutdowns are on the surge across the globe, at least four dozen states-imposed internet shutdowns in 2024 alone, in armed conflicts and other situations. In some states where an authoritarian propensity or “digital sovereignty” reigns, internet shutdowns are being imposed to control political narratives during the conduct of hostilities. These states justify their actions using a “shut it off” argument, claiming that the internet is a luxury and further asserting that access to the internet may be overridden by national security or other justifications. On the other hand, there are states that advance open access to the internet in an uninhibited manner where internet must always be open even during armed conflicts. When the internet is cut off, by whatsoever reasons, they tend to advance the free access of the internet using “keep it on” argument.

This Article first seeks to explore these polarized debates of internet shutdown and then goes on to examine the legality of internet shutdowns under international law, mainly focusing on International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Drawing on insights from the “Three Generations of Digital Human Rights” project, which conceptualizes access to the internet as a standalone new digital right, this Article argues that imposing internet shutdowns during armed conflicts or other situations, without due regard to IHRL and IHL, undermines emerging digital rights, foremost of which is the right of access to the internet. Finally, the Article suggests that states should co-apply both IHRL and IHL before, during, and after the imposition of shutdown measures in situations of armed conflict.