Azerbaijan restricts TikTok, Instagram and X amid hijab protests

Internet monitor NetBlocks reported that access to TikTok, Instagram and X was restricted across multiple internet service providers in Azerbaijan as people protested rules on wearing hijabs in local schools. The source does not specify when the restrictions began.

Surfshark’s Internet Shutdown Tracker records this as Azerbaijan’s fourth restriction incident in six years and the first directly linked to protests, according to the report. The three earlier cases were associated with wider political turmoil and involved restrictions on social media and Voice over IP (VoIP) services, as well as a regional network disruption.

Surfshark’s 2025 overview counted 81 new internet restrictions across 21 countries, a 29% increase from the previous year. It attributed 56 of those restrictions to Asia, affecting about 2.2 billion people; India accounted for 24. Globally, Telegram was blocked on nine occasions by seven governments. Political turmoil was linked to 51 of the 81 restrictions, and six countries imposed shutdowns in response to protests.

Luís Costa, Surfshark’s Research Lead, said shutdowns and systemic censorship affected 4.6 billion people in 2025. He also said Albania and Panama introduced internet restrictions for the first time that year. These figures and claims are attributed to Surfshark in the source report.