Today leading internet and telecommunications giants issued a strong rebuke of the use of internet shutdowns worldwide. The Global Network Initiative (GNI) and the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue — which include company members AT&T, Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Facebook, Vodafone, Orange, Telenor, and Telefonica, among many others — joined GNI’s civil society members, experts, and investors to speak out against the intentional disruption of the internet and telecommunications in a statement.

“We welcome this strong, forceful statement on the danger of internet shutdowns,” said Brett Solomon, Executive Director of Access Now. “Telecommunications and internet companies are essential partners in this battle, and they now present a unified voice declaring that shutdowns harm human rights and business. The world’s most vulnerable and marginalized users suffer directly under this blunt instrument that casts entire societies into darkness.”