Mass access to the web increases the likelihood of social protests

This is the conclusion reached by economists and political scientists who have studied data from more than 120 countries over the past decades. The key "accelerator" of civil protests, in their opinion, is mass access to the Internet.

The study, published in the Scottish Journal of Political Economy, shows that economic inequality begins to directly influence political instability only when more than half of a country's population has access to the net.

Inequality is growing, but not everywhere is protesting

According to the World Inequality Report 2026, today the richest 10 per cent of the world's population earn 53 per cent of global income and own 75 per cent of the world's wealth. At the same time, the poorest half of humanity has only 8% of income and 2% of assets.

At first glance, such figures look like a direct path to mass protests. However, in practice, many countries with high levels of inequality have maintained political stability for years, while in others - with a more moderate gap - unrest erupts. Scientists decided to find out what exactly triggers this mechanism.

The Internet as a "trigger"

The authors of the paper compared income inequality indicators (Gini index), World Bank data on political stability and the level of Internet penetration in different countries in 1996-2020.

The results were surprising:

• in countries with low internet access, rising inequality does not lead to greater instability - sometimes it is even combined with greater stability;

• in digitally connected societies, where more than 50 per cent of the population uses the internet, the link between inequality and protest becomes clear and statistically significant.

This effect persists even when other risk factors - youth unemployment, corruption or natural resource revenues - are taken into account.

Why networks amplify conflict

Researchers identify two key mechanisms.

First, the visibility of wealth.
The Internet and social networks have broken down information isolation. People no longer compare their lives only with their neighbours - they see on a daily basis the luxurious lifestyles of elites, both at home and abroad. This increases the sense of relative deprivation and turns abstract statistics into a personal experience.

Secondly, the reduction of the "price of protest".
Whereas previously organising mass protests required time, resources and carried serious risks, social media and messengers have dramatically simplified coordination. Examples include the Arab Spring, protests in Iran, and recent events in Nepal, where online mobilisation led to a large-scale anti-corruption movement and the resignation of the prime minister.

That said, the internet does not create discontent from scratch - it is shaped by inequality, corruption and repression. But it is digital technologies that turn this discontent into collective action.

What this means for states

As the world's internet access rate approaches 70 per cent, more and more countries are crossing a critical threshold of digital inclusion. In such circumstances, authorities can no longer rely on low awareness or weak self-organisation.

The authors of the study emphasise that attempts to restrict the Internet can only have a temporary effect. Only measures to reduce social inequality - progressive taxation, investment in public services and the fight against corruption - will ensure long-term stability. In the digital age, this becomes not just an economic policy, but a matter of national security.