Global Internet freedom has decreased for the thirteenth consecutive year, according to a report published this Wednesday by the Freedom House organization, which pointed to China as the worst online environment and Iran as the country in the greatest decline.
According to the report “Online Freedom 2023: The repressive power of artificial intelligence” [Liberdade na Internet 2023: O poder de repressão da inteligência artificial, na tradução para português]Digital repression intensified in Iran, the country that recorded the worst decline of the year as authorities shut down internet service, blocked platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram and increased surveillance in a bid to suppress anti-government protests.
Although Iran is the country in greatest decline, China continues to hold the title of the world’s worst environment for Internet freedom for the ninth consecutive year.
The report also highlights that Myanmar (formerly Burma) came close to overtaking China as the country with the worst conditions for Internet freedom, and that conditions worsened in the Philippines when former President Rodrigo Duterte used an anti-terrorism law to block sites. news outlet that criticized his administration.
During the survey period, Costa Rica’s status as a defender of Internet freedom was also in jeopardy, following the election of a president whose campaign manager hired people to harass several media outlets in the country online.
The Washington-based nonprofit Freedom House says that as conditions have deteriorated in 29 countries, they have improved in another 20, even as attacks on free speech have become more common throughout. the world.
Freedom House recorded a record number of 55 of the 70 countries covered in the report facing legal repercussions for speaking online, while others were physically attacked or killed for their online comments in 41 countries.
The most egregious cases occurred in Myanmar and Iran, whose authoritarian regimes carried out death sentences against people convicted of crimes related to “online” speech.
In Belarus and Nicaragua, where Internet freedom protections fell sharply during the period covered, citizens received “draconian prison sentences” for speaking online, “a central tactic used by dictators Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Daniel Ortega in their violent campaigns to remain in power. the report states.
“The largest decline on the report’s 100-point scale occurred in Iran (-5), followed by the Philippines (-4) and then Belarus (-3), Costa Rica (-3) and Nicaragua (-3).” said. the organization said.
“Freedom on the Internet” is an annual study on human rights in the digital sphere. The project assesses Internet freedom in 70 countries, representing 88% of Internet users worldwide. This report, the thirteenth in its series, covered events between June 2022 and May 2023.
More than 85 analysts and consultants contributed to this year’s edition, using a standard methodology to determine each country’s Internet freedom score on a 100-point scale, with 21 separate indicators related to access barriers, content limits and violations of user rights.
Source: TSF
