Earthlink Telecommunications (Iraq)—Earthlink Iraq complied with 16 consecutive government-ordered internet blackouts during 2026 national school exams
Iraq's Ministry of Communications ordered federally-licensed ISPs to cut internet access every exam morning to prevent cheating, across two rounds (June 13-July 4 and August 26-September 12, 2026). Network measurement by GeoCables and ISOC Pulse showed Earthlink (AS199739) and Noor Al-Bedaya dropped to zero connectivity on all 16 monitored exam mornings, each lasting 50-90 minutes at the same hour, cutting 66-71% of national connectivity. Kurdistan Region providers were unaffected because the semi-autonomous region runs its own exam calendar outside Baghdad's jurisdiction, not because they declined to comply.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Accountability | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Open Internet & Web Freedom | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.124 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.66)× agency (compelled ×0.25)
Evidence (2 signals)
GeoCables network measurement shows Earthlink (AS199739) dropped to zero connectivity on 16 of 16 exam mornings
Network telemetry analysis by GeoCables documented Earthlink and Noor Al-Bedaya going to zero connectivity at the same hour on every monitored exam morning between June and September 2026, while Kurdistan Region providers outside federal jurisdiction remained online.
ISOC Pulse independently confirmed Iraq exam-shutdown events; Iraqi Minister of Communications acknowledged the order
The Internet Society's Pulse shutdown-tracking project independently logged the September 1, 26, and 9, 2026 shutdown events in Iraq, corroborating GeoCables' measurements. Iraqi Minister of Communications Mustafa Sanad confirmed the shutdown policy in an official video message announcing the measure on May 19, 2026.