From Myanmar to Venezuela, people find ways to circumvent internet shutdowns

In a small bamboo stall in Myanmar, Min prepares to open his shop. Loose cables connect an off-grid solar power system to sockets. Rows of plastic chairs await customers, while a handwritten menu displays meat snacks and salads. Min is not his real name, for safety reasons. He knows his customers spend considerable time here, all for one reason: internet access. He says around 30 people visit his café daily. When it first opened over two years ago, such cafés were rare, with 300 to 400 customers each day. ‘The demand was incredible,’ he recalls. Min’s area is among many hit by local internet shutdowns imposed by Myanmar’s military junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup. In the five years of civil war since, some regions have faced internet outages lasting days, even months. In 2022, UN experts stated these shutdowns deliberately targeted areas where the junta faced fierce opposition. To bypass internet cuts, Min has a clever trick: Starlink. The satellite internet service by Elon Musk’s SpaceX connects directly to space, bypassing domestic infrastructure. The main connectivity comes from a flat, rectangular dish antenna, acquired through Thailand’s black market, smuggled across the border, and now securely mounted on his tin-roofed stall. Hidden location. Min says his business is unprofitable. He keeps prices low at 1,000 kyat (around £0.45) per hour to help refugees and locals. But running this internet café is a matter of life and death. The military junta strictly forbids such businesses; a single mistake could land him in prison or see his equipment seized. These constraints limit his café to just three hours of operation daily. Beyond limited power supply, the constant fear of discovery looms. Even though the area is under rebel control, Min worries his solar panels and Starlink dish might be spotted from the air by government fighter jets. To evade military radar, he has relocated his café twice to more secluded spots. According to the Myanmar Internet Project (MIP), a digital rights group, internet shutdowns have occurred over 450 times since February 2021, affecting over 20 million people. MIP has identified a clear pattern linking these blocks to junta attacks. ‘Our research shows nearly 90% of internet shutdowns are tied to bombing campaigns… They cut communications to destroy areas undetected,’ says Nyan, a digital rights analyst at MIP using a pseudonym for safety. Meanwhile, cyber surveillance is strict. Citizens are banned from providing or using VPNs without military government approval, despite the technology being widely used globally to bypass internet censorship. Ironically, internet access issues also stem from armed opposition groups, who sometimes restrict Starlink use in their territories for security reasons or even attack communication infrastructure. Shutdowns on the rise. Though Min’s operation is small, he is part of a growing movement. Across the globe, individuals and groups are breaking laws to circumvent internet censorship imposed by the world’s most repressive regimes. This aligns with findings by Access Now, an international digital rights group. Their report notes global internet shutdowns have risen since 2020, hitting a record 313 in 52 countries in 2025. Myanmar topped the list with 95 shutdowns. Beyond total shutdowns, blocking specific digital platforms has surged. In 2025, Access Now recorded 94 cases of social media and messaging app blocks worldwide, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and X – a threefold increase since 2016 when tracking began.