Netgain Challenge

Internet shutdowns are the unspoken threat to digital and human rights around the world. From Belarus to China to the Democratic Republic of Congo, governments have demanded telcos to cut off their services in the face of legitimate dissent—and the telcos frequently comply. These shutdowns often precede human rights violations and feed impunity by state and non-state actors. There is no remedy for shutdowns, no compensation for victims, and no regulatory oversight. As the next billion come online, shutdowns will affect increasing of people across a widening range of devices and services, including mobile phones, broadband, and VoIP. Philanthropy can help us to respond to shutdowns through a coordinated strategy. We need 1. support to urgently establish policy norms to de-normalize shutdowns. 2. technical solutions that can be rapidly deployed like mesh networks/satellite 3) advocacy infrastructure to expose and respond to shutdowns - the lowest form of censorship.