To me, the idea of shutting down Internet via ISPs or international backbones is similar to blowing up your own house with TNT when a robber breaks into it. You stop the robbery, but your family pays the price as well.
Shutting down the Internet will disrupt not only people's communications but also systems' communications at various levels, including the systems of interest of the oppressive, of his/her family or political allies.
It would be so much easier and safer to the group in power to just "maneuver" bigtech instead. I remember when Facebook's general manager in the country I live was arrested[1], then blackmailed, to provide authorities means for them to access WhatsApp messages without confiscating the actual phones. Fast forward today, they are confiscating phones whenever they feel like reading private messages from anyone[2].
I liked how other folks reacted to my original comment posting their technical view. I didn't know DNS was such a weak link and a clear point of failure to the Internet. I wonder if protocols like BitTorrent could survive DNS restrictions, allowing people to communicate via shared text files thrown within a folder. My guess is that since it has survived the copyright crisis back then, it could be used for other crisis as well. Frankly, I'm just suspecting.
Shutting down the Internet will disrupt not only people's communications but also systems' communications at various levels, including the systems of interest of the oppressive, of his/her family or political allies.
It would be so much easier and safer to the group in power to just "maneuver" bigtech instead. I remember when Facebook's general manager in the country I live was arrested[1], then blackmailed, to provide authorities means for them to access WhatsApp messages without confiscating the actual phones. Fast forward today, they are confiscating phones whenever they feel like reading private messages from anyone[2].
I liked how other folks reacted to my original comment posting their technical view. I didn't know DNS was such a weak link and a clear point of failure to the Internet. I wonder if protocols like BitTorrent could survive DNS restrictions, allowing people to communicate via shared text files thrown within a folder. My guess is that since it has survived the copyright crisis back then, it could be used for other crisis as well. Frankly, I'm just suspecting.
[1] https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/brasil/executivo-do... [2] https://jc.ne10.uol.com.br/colunas/jamildo/2022/08/15065135-...