Could the United States government easily turn off the Internet for US citizens?

[whit537]

[r721]

There's a nonprofit that campaigns against internet shutdowns - Access Now. They have a lot of information on their website:

https://www.accessnow.org/issue/internet-shutdowns/

https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton-faq/

Related news story:

>Internet shutdowns: The new authoritarian weapon of choice

https://www.protocol.com/policy/internet-shutdowns-report (Sep 2021)

[whit537]

The question occurs to me because I was talking with someone from Iran recently and learned about Internet shutdowns there. Why can't it happen here?

https://www.netfreedompioneers.org/iranian-elections-2021-ho...

[Dracophoenix]

They can take down sites that use American-owned TLDs. It happened to Iran.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24746350

[timothyfcook]

Interesting question. Feels like they could maybe do this effectively for a significant portion of the population but that more savvy users would find ways around a blockade?

[simondanerd → timothyfcook]

It would help to live near the northern border - one could get cell signal from "the other side" in certain situations and effectively restore a limited connection to a limited area.