Internet Shutdowns Cost the Global Economy $5.5 Billion in 2021

According to an annual report of the Digital Security and Rights group, Top10VPN, Internet shutdowns, social media shutdowns and bandwidth throttling by governments all across the world have cost a total of $5.5 billion to the global economy in 2021. 

The report also shows that among all the most affected economies was Myanmar after the military seized the power in a coup in February 2021, which resulted in extensive internet and social media shutdowns. 

The second most affected country is Nigeria. The country blocked access to Twitter in June 2021. The total loss from Nigeria is estimated at $1.5 billion.

The report also showed that this cost rose by 36% in 2021 as compared to the results of 2020. Not only this, almost 486 million people were affected by the government-imposed internet blackouts during the last year. 

Samuel Woodhams, one of the authors of the report said that companies all around the world suffer heavy losses due to the internet shutdown. He also said that the internet shutdowns will keep on harming the economy all around the world.