Internet freedom on the decline: best and worst performing countries
In the high-stakes battle between states and technology companies, the rights of internet users have become the main casualties, says a new report by Freedom House, noting that global internet freedom has declined for the 11th consecutive year.
The “Freedom on the Net 2021 – The Global Drive to Control Big Tech” report attributes this decline to two vastly different reasons: Many governments exploited regulatory crackdowns against the tech giants to surveil and censor their citizens, while the United States’ hands-off approach to the industry has eroded public access to reliable information online.
“A growing number of governments are asserting their authority over tech firms, often forcing them to comply with online censorship and surveillance. These developments have contributed to an unprecedented assault on free expression online,” causing global internet freedom to further decline, the report says.
Of the 70 states covered by the report, a total of 48 pursued legal or administrative action against technology companies. While some moves reflected legitimate attempts to mitigate online harms, rein in misuse of data, or end manipulative market practices, many new laws imposed excessively broad censorship and data-collection requirements on the private sector, researchers note.
The environment for human rights online deteriorated in 30 countries, while only 18 countries registered net gains. The largest decline occurred in Myanmar, while Ecuador experienced the largest improvement. Iceland was once again the top performer, while China continues to rank as the worst environment for internet freedom.
Users’ online activities are now more pervasively moderated and monitored by companies through processes that lack the safeguards featured in democratic governance, such as transparency, judicial oversight, and public accountability.
Key Findings of the Report
Global internet freedom declined for the 11th consecutive year
According to the report, the greatest deteriorations were documented in Myanmar, Belarus, and Uganda, where state forces cracked down amid electoral and constitutional crises. Myanmar’s 14-point score decline is the largest registered since the Freedom on the Net project began.
Governments clashed with technology companies on users’ rights
Authorities in at least 48 countries pursued new rules for tech companies on content, data, and competition over the past year. With a few positive exceptions, the push to regulate the tech industry, which stems in some cases from genuine problems like online harassment and manipulative market practices, is being exploited to subdue free expression and gain greater access to private data.
Free expression online is under strain
More governments arrested users for nonviolent political, social, or religious speech than ever before, the study found. Officials suspended internet access in at least 20 countries, and 21 states blocked access to social media platforms. Authorities in at least 45 countries are suspected of obtaining sophisticated spyware or data-extraction technology from private vendors.
The Chinese government remained the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom.
China still ranks as the worst environment for internet freedom
Chinese authorities imposed draconian prison terms for online dissent, independent reporting, and mundane daily communications. The COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the most heavily censored topics. Officials also cracked down on the country’s tech giants, citing their abuses related to competition and data protection, though the campaign further concentrated power in the hands of the authoritarian state.
The United States’ score declined for the fifth consecutive year
The report found that false, misleading, and manipulated information continued to proliferate online in the U.S., even affecting public acceptance of the 2020 presidential election results.
The report called measures taken by Joe Biden since his election “promising” for internet freedom, citing the reversal of a Trump administration order to halt transactions between US individuals and Chinese social media companies as beneficial.
State intervention must protect human rights online and preserve an open internet
The emancipatory power of the internet depends on its egalitarian nature. Researchers argue that to counter digital authoritarianism, democracies should ensure that regulations enable users to express themselves freely, share information across borders, and hold the powerful to account.
About the report
The yearly study, which has been published by Freedom House – an American democracy advocacy group – since 1973, assesses internet freedom in 70 countries, accounting for 88% of the world’s internet users.
It uses a standard index to measure internet freedom by country on a 100-point scale. It asks questions about internet infrastructure, government control and obstacles to access, and content regulation.
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