- Global internet freedom falls for 14th consecutive year
- Myanmar and China tied for worst internet freedom record
- 27 of 72 nations surveyed saw declines in online human rights protections
According to recent research, global internet freedom has fallen for the 14th consecutive year, with Myanmar and China tied for the poorest record.
Freedom House, a pro-democracy research organization based in the United States, claimed in a study released on Wednesday that Kyrgyzstan experienced the most significant drop in 2024 as President Sadyr Japarov cracked down on online organizing and the government sought to muzzle digital media.
The Kyrgyz authorities shut down Kloop, an investigative media website that had reported on an opposition leader’s charges of torture in jail.
According to the Freedom on the Net (FOTN) study, online human rights protections have weakened in 27 of the 72 nations surveyed.
According to the research, Myanmar became the first country in a decade to match China’s poor internet freedom score. The Southeast Asian country’s military government has cracked down on opposition, enforcing systematic censorship and online speech surveillance.
The research highlighted additional measures implemented by the government in May to prevent access to virtual private networks (VPNs), which are used to circumvent internet regulations.
China’s low score for internet freedom stems from its “great firewall,” which seeks to isolate the country from the rest of the world and restrict anything that threatens the governing Communist Party.
When asked about the findings, China stated that its citizens “enjoy various rights and freedoms in accordance with the law.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said, “As for the so-called report, I think it is entirely baseless and made with ulterior motives.”
Other nations that were demoted include Azerbaijan, which will host the United Nations climate meeting next month, for imprisoning people over social media posts, and Iraq, where a famous activist was assassinated after a Facebook post sparked demonstrations.
Freedom House said that in three-quarters of the nations covered by FOTN, internet users were arrested for nonviolent expression, with some receiving severe prison sentences of more than ten years.
Meanwhile, Iceland remains the “freest online environment” in the world, followed by Estonia, Canada, Chile, and Costa Rica.
Zambia showed the most significant score improvement, and the survey discovered that the country witnessed a rising area for online activism.
For the first time in 2024, FOTN evaluated situations in Chile and the Netherlands, which it claimed had suitable online human rights safeguards.
Elections
The report ranked the United States 76th out of 100 regarding online human rights protection, citing a lack of safeguards against government spying.
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It particularly cited actions taken by at least 19 US states banning artificial intelligence in electoral campaigns.
With numerous more elections, including the November 5 US presidential election, set for the year’s final three months, the analysis discovered that polls have “reshaped” the internet.
According to the research, technical filtering limited the capacity of numerous opposition groups to reach their followers and hampered access to independent information on the voting process.
It went on to say that more than a billion voters were forced to make critical decisions about their future while navigating a filtered, distorted, untrustworthy information environment.
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