Latest internet restrictions

Turkey 🇹🇷 Dozens of X accounts belonging to human rights organizations, journalists and LGBT rights advocates have been blocked in Turkey, according to reports on September 14.

Those include the Turkish lawyers' association MLSA and women's rights organization Mor Dayanışma.

Turkish internet censorship monitoring initiative Engelliweb reported that a court ordered the blocking of dozens of profiles.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir 🇵🇰 Internet access has now been severely restricted in Pakistan-administered Kashmir for more than 100 days, NetBlocks told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur on September 14.

Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 Internet speeds have been restricted in the country since September 2, while Facebook and TikTok have been blocked for users without a VPN. WhatsApp and Instagram remain accessible but with restrictions.

The apparent shutdown followed a video accusing Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang, also known as Teodorín, of corruption. The woman who posted it was subsequently arrested.

🌍 Stay up to date with the latest internet disruptions with Internet Society’s Pulse shutdown tracker.

In this month's digital censorship news

🇮🇷 Coming soon: Circuit Breakr had the opportunity to ask Sherilyn Naidoo, senior manager for Digital and Human Rights at MTN, about the response of the telco during the internet shutdown in Iran earlier this year. While the South African company "only" holds a 49% stake in MTN-Irancell, some human rights advocates, including one from Ranking Digital Rights, who invited Nadoo on a webinar on September 10, highlighted that "no operational control" does not necessarily mean "no responsibility." Read more very soon on CircuitBreakr…

🇲🇲 On September 15, 2026, Norwegian authorities announced an investigation into Telenor over suspected crimes against humanity and sanctions violations linked to its withdrawal from Myanmar following the 2021 military coup. The investigation follows a police complaint filed by Justice for Myanmar and ICJ Norway, as well as a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year by Sweden-based Justice and Accountability Initiative (JAI), with support from Myanmar civil society and EU-based organizations. Access Now, September 17, 2026

🇻🇪 Venezuela started unblocking several news media websites on September 16, after years of restrictions. VE sin Filtro, September 16, 2026

This week's watch list

Dovydas Godelis recently took over leadership of Surfshark after being a part of the business for over seven years. This week, he did an interview with The Privacy Lab to talk about his experience and what might be coming next for the VPN provider.

Upcoming events

📆 RightsCon Continues
Where & when: Online | September 22, 2026
Host: : Access Now
Website | Subscribe to the RightsCon Rundown

📅 Disconnected Justice: The Non-Implementation of Internet Shutdown Judgments
Where & when: Online | September 28, 2026
Host: Media Defence
Website | Register

🗓️ Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2026 (FIFAfrica26)
Where & when: Balaclava, Mauritius | September 28-October 1, 2026
Host: Collaboration on International ICT Policy For East And Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Website | Register

📆 SMEX Secure Communications Hackathon at Bread&Net
Where & when: Beirut, Lebanon | October 10-11, 2026
Host: SMEX
Website | Apply (deadline: September 30, 2026)

📆 IMC 2026 Hackathon at Internet Measurement Conference
Where & when: Karlsruhe, Germany | October 12, 2026
Hosts: Measurement Lab, Internet Society, UNICEF Giga, IIJ Research Laboratory, Internet Intelligence Lab, IODA, Cloudflare Radar, Sorbonne Université, Internet History Initiative, OONI
Website | Register interest

🗓️ Internet Measurement Conference (IMC) 2026
Where & when: Karlsruhe, Germany | October 12-16, 2026
Host: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Website | Register

🗓️ Bread&Net
Where & when: Beirut, Lebanon | October 14-16, 2026
Host: SMEX
Website | Register

📆 Remote Sensing and OSINT Analysis for Human Rights and Humanitarian Applications
Where & when: Online | October 19-23, 2026
Host: Humanitarian Research Lab, Yale School of Public Health
Website | Register interest

🗓️ SplinterCon: Nordic
Where & when: Stockholm, Sweden | December 3-5, 2026
Host: eQualitie
Website | Register