Discussion and reports of possible internet shutdowns are not an uncommon issue in Paraguay. In 2021, the Coordinator of Human Rights of Paraguay (CODEHUPY) conducted an observation mission in the Northern Zone of the eastern region of Paraguay (departments of Concepción, San Pedro and Amambay).
Among the numerous findings of human rights violations by the Joint Task Force (FTC)2, the CODEHUPY documented possible internet outages through testimonies from people in the area. From TEDIC, we systematised these complaints in a report sent to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and in alliance with the organisations APC and Derechos Digitales.
We also identified the need for a specific study to understand these testimonies in greater detail. After a year of work, we officially launch a report that seeks to shed light and deepen on a little-explored subject in the country. Through interviews with inhabitants of the area and network monitoring through the Open Observatory on Network Interference (OONI)3 and the Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA)4 platforms, a series of findings were documented that reflect an enormous precariousness to varying degrees in the North Zone of the country, and that can positively contribute in making the existence of internet shutdowns.