The first episode of Kill Switch comes to you just as RightsCon 2020 kicks off - the world’s leading event on human rights in the digital age.

In this inaugural episode, we take a look at what exactly internet shutdowns, slow-downs, and social media blocks are. We also delve into the reasons behind the troubling rise in government-mandated internet shutdowns around the world in recent years.

Throughout the episode, we talk to experts and activists from around the world about recent, and currently ongoing, internet shutdowns - from the shutdown in Ethiopia that started in June 2020, to the shutdown that has been taking place since 2016 in the tribal regions of Pakistan. 

This episode features interviews with Berhan Taye from Access Now (www.accessnow.org), Mishi Choudhary from SFLC.in (www.sflc.in), Hija Kamran from Media Matters for Democracy (www.mediamatters.pk) and Oliver Spencer from Free Expression Myanmar (www.freeexpressionmyanmar.org/).

Hosted by Felicia Anthonia. Produced by Access Now, the #KeepItOn coalition, and Volume. Funding support from Internews. Production assistance by internet teapot. Music by Oman Morí.