Freedom on the Net 2015 Finds World Internet Freedoms Declining

Summary: Freedom on the Net 2015, published Oct. 28, finds world internet freedoms declining in 32 assessed countries, improving in 15 and stabilizing in 18.

graphic of internet freedom in 65 countries (18 free, 28 partly free, 19 not free) in Freedom on the Net 2015, pages 18-19: Conrad Hackett @conradhackett via Twitter Oct. 30, 2015

World internet freedoms are declining in 32 assessed countries, improving in 15 assessed countries and remaining stable in 18 assessed countries, according to Freedom on the Net 2015, published online Oct. 28, 2015, by Freedom House of Washington, D.C.

The non-governmental organization for advocacy and research on democracy, human rights and political freedom bases its findings upon examinations of internet-relevant laws and practices, interviews and tests of website accessibility between June 2014 and May 2015 by over 70 researchers regarding 65 countries.

Freedom House considers vital to the sixth annual report support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Facebook; Google; Twitter; the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; and Yahoo.

The 972-page report describes censorship of digital media and internet freedoms in terms of limits on content, obstacles to access and violations of user rights regarding 10 topics. It encounters access obstacles, content restrictions and rights violations regarding activism and mobilization for public causes in 16 countries; blasphemy (insults to religion and revered figures) in 21 assessed countries; conflict, terrorism or violence in 29; corruption and misuse of public funds in 28; criticism of authorities (government, military, or ruling family) in 47; ethnic and religious minority communities in 13; LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) issues in 14; political opposition in 23; satire (irony and ridicule of public officials) in 23; and social commentary in 20.

Freedom House’s five co-authors find no instances of censorships in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Georgia (the Eurasian country), Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Philippines, South Africa or the United States. It gives France and the United Kingdom each instances of internet topic censorships regarding conflict. It has instances of Ethiopia and of Iran each censoring all 10 topics.

Madeline Earp, Sanja Kelly, Laura Reed, Adrian Shahbaz and Mai Truong identify the assessed countries as harboring 88 percent of all internet users. It judges that 31 percent operate free of anonymity and encryption circumventions, content-creator coercion, surveillance technologies and tech-company intimidation whereas 22.7 percent and 34.3 percent operate in respectively semi-free and not at all free contexts.

The report keeps trajectories stable in Argentina, Armenia, Ecuador, Gambia, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam. It lists negative trajectories in Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Positive trajectories in Bahrain, Brazil, Cuba, Estonia, Georgia (country), India, Iran, Lebanon, Malawi, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Uzbekistan and Zambia mean that “Digital activism has been and remains a vital driver of change around the world, particularly in societies that lack political rights and press freedom.”

cover image for Freedom House's Freedom of the Net 2015; protesters demonstrate against internet censorship in China, one of partner countries of CeBit (Centrum für Büroautomation, Informationstechnologie und Telekommunikation,"Center for Office Automation, Information Technology and Telecommunication") computer trade fair held in Hanover, Germany, March 2015; image by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images: Freedom House @FreedomHouseDC via Facebook Oct. 29, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

graphic of internet freedom in 65 countries (18 free, 28 partly free, 19 not free) in Freedom on the Net 2015, pages 18-19: Conrad Hackett @conradhackett via Twitter Oct. 29, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/conradhackett/status/659930863581270020

cover image for Freedom House's Freedom of the Net 2015; protesters demonstrate against internet censorship in China, one of partner countries of CeBit (Centrum für Büroautomation, Informationstechnologie und Telekommunikation,"Center for Office Automation, Information Technology and Telecommunication") computer trade fair held in Hanover, Germany, March 2015; image by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images: Freedom House @FreedomHouseDC via Facebook Oct. 29, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/FreedomHouseDC/photos/a.407886377077/10153184502217078/

For further information:

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett. 29 October 2015. "Internet freedom rank, 2015." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/conradhackett/status/659930863581270020

Freedom House @FreedomHouseDC. 29 October 29 2015. "Over 61% of all internet users live in countries where criticism of the government is subject to online censorship. To learn more, see the new report." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/FreedomHouseDC/photos/a.407886377077/10153184502217078/

Freedom House @FreedomHouseDC. 27 October 2015. "Updated their cover photo." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/FreedomHouseDC/photos/a.10150579575497078/10153185726877078/

Kelly, Sanja; Madeline Earp; Laura Reed; Adrian Shahbaz, Adrian; and Mai Truong. 2015. Freedom on the Net 2015: Privatizing Censorship, Eroding Privacy. Washington, D.C., U.S.A.: Freedom House.
Available @ https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTN%202015%20Full%20Report.pdf

Pimienta, Alberto. 28 October 2015. “Freedom House: World Internet Freedom Keeps Eroding.” Voice of America > News > Science & Technology.
Available @ http://www.voanews.com/content/freedom-house-world-internet-freedom-keeps-eroding/3027570.html

VOA News. 28 October 2015. "Freedom House: World Internet Freedom Keeps Eroding." YouTube.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLYrivcWGzQ