This year, Iraq’s Internet went dark for May 14, 15, and 16, between 05:00 AM and 08:00 AM GMT. Adding timezone differences, that’s 08:00 to 11:00 AM, the time, and dates for Iraq’s official exams for secondary and high schools. However, this is not the first time, the communications ministry done the same thing in 2015. The diktat was implemented during the national exam days but no Iraqi official ever admitted it. This year however, an Iraqi Internet Service Provider leaked on Facebook the content of an email it received from the communications ministry.
SMEX, a media freedom advocacy and development organization for Arab countries, also noted that major Internet content delivery networks like Akamai and Dyn saw a complete lack of Internet connection from Iraqi servers right on the aforementioned dates and time.
— StateOfTheInternet (@akamai_soti) May 16, 2016
— Dyn Research (@DynResearch) May 16, 2016 Though purists may back Iraq governments to curb exam cheating by blocking the Internet for whole of Iraq, it also shows the utter ease by which Internet was shut down by the ISPs. This does not bode well for freedom of information because the government may shut down the Internet at the smallest whiff of protest from its citizens like an Arab Spring protest.
