UCalgary grad student discusses prize-winning policy research with CRTC commissioners

Anurag receives the 2024 CRTC Prize for excellence in policy research. Courtesy
Anurag receives the 2024 CRTC Prize for excellence in policy research. Courtesy CRTC
As the world becomes ever more reliant on the internet as a means of communication and information sharing, governments can employ internet shutdowns under the guise of curbing the spread of misinformation, but also as a measure of control among their citizens.

Anurag , a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication, Media, and Film within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary, has been researching the intersection of internet shutdowns and misinformation. His work won the 2024 CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) Canadian Communication Association Prize for excellence in policy research.

Included in this prize is the opportunity to discuss the research with the CRTC commissioners.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

UToday had a chance to catch up with Anurag to find out all’about internet shutdowns across the globe, his discussions with the CRTC, and if this policy could happen in Canada.

What are internet shutdowns and how do they differ from blocking websites?

Internet shutdowns are a very new phenomenon, especially in those parts of the world where democratic mechanisms are not robust. It’s a blanket ban on the flow of information in a specific region that leads to the complete loss of internet connectivity. On the other hand, website blocking has been happening since the inception of the internet. It is a more targeted and selective restriction of an information to stop users from accessing specific content or platforms. Oftentimes, website blocking tends to occur to comply with the laws of the land. For example, China and North Korea have banned the services of Google. During website blocking, there are ways to circumvent the block using VPNs or proxy servers. What drew me to this topic is India’s alarming record. Over the past 6 to 7 years, India has been at the forefront of internet shutdowns. Since 2012, the internet has been shut down in regions across the country 849 times and the world’s longest internet shutdown was imposed in the Indian region of Kashmir, where residents lived for more than 500 consecutive days without internet. It’s unimaginable.

How do internet shutdowns and misinformation intersect?

My preliminary findings from my field work tell me that the intersection plays out in polar opposite ways. I have been closely reading internet shutdown orders by the Indian authorities since 2020, and their reasoning is the internet is being shutdown to stop rumours and misinformation. There is no study to justify this, there is no expert committee which recommended this. In these shutdown orders, even the wording is copy paste from past orders and they just change the date. On the ground, however, the reality is very different. Participants in my research shared a contrasting experience: they continued to encounter rumours and misinformation, just through different channels instead of the internet. The situation is even worse for them because, without internet access, they have no reliable way to cross-check or verify the information they receive. Without the internet, the likelihood of falling for misinformation increases.

Your study focused on the Indian government’s internet shutdowns. Why do they use this tool as frequently as they do and what ends are they hoping to achieve?

The Government does this to stop rumours, fake news and misinformation. At least that’s their reasoning. It also does help in stopping rumours, but only for a very brief period of time. They also use it for counterterrorism purposes. In many states, they also do it to prevent cheating on exams. That’s the government’s reasoning for these shutdowns. However, the people who are affected by it are from marginalized communities, and they see it as suppression of their dissent and curtailing their voices. They feel their stories are being prevented from coming out for other people to hear. There are two different sides to it. The Government claims it’s a tool of law and governance, but the people see it as a violation of their rights. Through my research, I aim not just to explore this contradiction, but to also find a more balanced approach to stop misinformation, which is a very significant challenge in the Global South.

What are people doing in response to these shutdowns?

Most of the time, these shutdowns are implemented as a preventative measure to control law-and-order situations, such as protests or communal riots. The internet is shut down to disrupt the movement and planning, but people have different mechanisms to get around this. I looked at the farmer’s protests in the Punjab region, which were also covered extensively in Canada. The Government shut down their internet so they couldn’t mobilize. I talked to farmers who said they’d go to villages and announce when a protest was happening over loudspeakers or distribute flyers. In some regions, the internet is kept on in critical infrastructure like hospitals and government buildings, so people will go there and see if there is open wi-fi to access the internet and send messages or critical information.

Your studied received the CRTC prize which included a discussion with CRTC commissioners. What was the main topic they wished to discuss with you about this study?

Internet shutdowns are a foreign concept or idea for the Western world, so they wanted to know the lessons for Canada. My answer was: learn the lessons from these other countries. The desire to control internet access is a tempting prospect for the governments or corporations throughout history. Everyone wants to control the flow of information through means like ownership or state control, like we all saw with the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. So, the lesson for Canada is to be cautious and make their legal safeguards strong. The power to control the internet shouldn’t be in the hands of just one person or body. If that happens, it could undermine the democratic ideals and open ethos that the internet stands for.

Is there potential for internet shutdowns to be used in Canada in the same way they have been used in other countries across the globe?

I don’t think so, but history tells us that there has been attempts made to control the internet. The U.K. and U.S. both saw proposals for government control over internet access, which sparked significant criticism but were ultimately rejected. In 2012, internet service provider Telestra’s outages in Australia raised suspicions of the Australian government testing internet shutdowns. So, it’s not that the West is immune to this issue; it’s more a matter of how these proposals are handled and the public resistance they face. As technology evolves, the challenge of balancing security and freedom of expression continues to be a global concern.