Cloudflare Reports Sharp Fall in Global Internet Shutdowns in 2025

Cloudflare Reports Sharp Fall in Global Internet Shutdowns in 2025 is profiled by BTW Media because public-source evidence links it to internet infrastructure, governance, operational dependencies, or market visibility.

• Government-ordered shutdowns fell to just one in the last quarter of 2025, according to Cloudflare’s latest connectivity report.
• The report also details significant disruptions from fibre cuts, extreme weather and power failures, raising questions about network resilience worldwide.

What Happened

Cloudflare’s latest quarterly report states that government-directed internet shutdowns fell sharply in the final quarter of 2025, with only one confirmed instance — in Tanzania amid election-related unrest that disrupted traffic for over a day.

However, the company also documented a range of connectivity problems tied to cable damage, extreme weather events and power outages across multiple regions. In Haiti, cuts to international fibre infrastructure caused major temporary traffic drops, while Pakistan saw disruptions linked to damage on the PEACE submarine cable. Similar service volatility was noted in Cameroon due to WACS cable issues.

Storms including Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and Cyclone Senyar in Sri Lanka and Indonesia inflicted significant damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure, resulting in internet traffic falling by as much as 80–95 per cent in some areas.

Cloudflare also flagged power outages in Kenya and the Dominican Republic that led to drastic declines in national traffic, as well as infrastructure damage in Ukraine from conflict-related strikes.

The report covers connectivity trends observed across Cloudflare’s global network spanning more than 330 cities in over 125 countries, using deviations from expected traffic patterns as proxies for outages.

Also Read: Cloudflare outage disrupts major web services globally

Also Read: Cloudflare outage cuts power to thousands in Spain and Portugal

Why It’s Important

While a reduction in government-imposed shutdowns might appear positive, the broader pattern of disruptions highlights how internet connectivity remains vulnerable to physical infrastructure failures and extreme weather. Even outside politically motivated shutdowns, cable cuts, storms and grid failures can sever access for millions — often with little warning.

The findings dovetail with recent high-profile outages at major providers such as Cloudflare itself, which in November 2025 experienced a global service disruption affecting up to a fifth of web traffic — including major platforms like ChatGPT and X — following an internal configuration issue rather than malicious attack. Such events underscore the fragility of modern internet infrastructure, where reliance on a handful of providers can create critical single points of failure.

This latest report could spur further debate among network architects and policymakers about how to enhance resilience — whether through diversified routing, redundant undersea cabling, or more robust local infrastructure — as digital reliance grows and disturbances from climate change and geopolitical instability continue.