Global Internet Freedom Declines Amid Rising Censorship, Disinformation
A latest report by Freedom House, a human rights organization, finds that world internet freedom is declining and people can no longer access the internet free of censorship and manipulation. This is also causing people to feel confused about making voting decisions because most of the information on the internet is false and lacks facts. The report covered 72 countries around the world and it showed that 27 countries are seeing a decline in human rights on the internet, while 18 countries have improved themselves in this category.
The report scored countries according to their internet freedom. Countries with 100-70 scores had freedom of internet use, countries with 69-40 scores had partly internet freedom. Countries which scored 30-0 were considered not-free. The scores were done by taking violations of user human rights, internet access and content restrictions in account.
Azerbaijan is again considered an ‘unfree’ country 34 points. Iraq, Belarus and Zimbabwe also lost 3 points as compared to last year, making them unfree countries as well. Kyrgyzstan lost 4 points compared to last year and saw the biggest drop in its internet freedom. Turkey, Russia and Iran are also among unfree countries.
Armenia and Georgia have 74 points, making them free countries. A former diplomat in Karabakh, Emin Ibragimov, got detained in Baku because he was asking for a peaceful solution to military actions on social media. Many Armenians also left Karabakh and Armenia called it “ethnic cleansing”. Azerbaijan is also trying to make its rigged elections seem fair to the public.
On the other hand, Russia has the lowest internet freedom score at 20. The Russian army has destroyed all of the internet infrastructure in the country and has implemented censorship in all of its territories. China and Myanmar also have no internet freedoms.
Take a look at the charts below for more insights:
The Global Assault on Free Expression
- Over 50 countries disrupted internet connectivity to silence political, social, and religious content.
- Social media platforms were blocked in more than 30 nations as part of internet control.
- Over 40 countries imprisoned or arrested internet users for online activities.
- Physical attacks on online users were reported in more than 20 countries globally.
Warping the Internet Ahead of Elections
- Censorship affected people in 25 countries during electoral periods in 2023–2024.
- Pro-government commentators were active in 21 countries to manipulate public opinion during elections.
- Pakistan’s government suppressed online access targeting opposition during key rallies in 2023.
- Venezuela intensified censorship after blocking polling websites ahead of the 2024 presidential vote.
Freedom on the Net 2024 Map
- 19 countries, including Canada, US and UK and more are classified as “Free” in the 2024 internet freedom index.
- 32 countries, including India, Singapore, Ukraine and Mexico, are categorized as “Partly Free” in terms of internet access.
- 21 countries, such as China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Russia, fall under the “Not Free” category with severe restrictions.
- 72 countries were assessed in total for the 2024 Freedom on the Net report.
Key Internet Controls by Country
Freedom House tracked how governments censor and control the internet. Each colored cell in the above infographic shows at least one instance of these controls from June 2023 to May 2024. These restrictions violate international human rights standards.
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