[governance] Fwd: Freedom House study finds mounting threats to Internet freedom

[Fouad Bajwa]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Freedom House/IFEX
Date: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 3:58 AM
Subject: Freedom House study finds mounting threats to Internet freedom
To: fouadbajwa

(Freedom House/IFEX) - Washington, DC, April 18, 2011 - Cyberattacks,
politically motivated censorship, and government control over internet
infrastructure are among the diverse and growing threats to internet
freedom, according to "Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of
Internet and Digital Media", a new study released today by Freedom
House.

These encroachments on internet freedom come at a time of explosive
growth in the number of internet users worldwide, which has doubled
over the past five years. Governments are responding to the increased
influence of the new medium by seeking to control online activity,
restricting the free flow of information, and otherwise infringing on
the rights of users.

"These detailed findings clearly show that internet freedom cannot be
taken for granted," said David J. Kramer, executive director of
Freedom House. "Nondemocratic regimes are devoting more attention and
resources to censorship and other forms of interference with online
expression."

Freedom on the Net 2011, which identifies key trends in internet
freedom in 37 countries, follows a pilot edition that was released in
2009. Freedom on the Net evaluates each country based on barriers to
access, limitations on content, and violations of users' rights.

The study found that Estonia had the greatest degree of internet
freedom among the countries examined, while the United States ranked
second. Iran received the lowest score in the analysis. Eleven other
countries received a ranking of Not Free, including Belarus, Burma,
China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. A total of 9 of the 15
countries in the original pilot study registered declines over the
past two years. Conditions in at least half of the newly added
countries similarly indicated a negative trajectory. Crackdowns on
bloggers, increased censorship, and targeted cyberattacks often
coincided with broader political turmoil, including controversial
elections.

Countries at Risk: As part of its analysis, Freedom House identified a
number of important countries that are seen as particularly vulnerable
to deterioration in the coming 12 months: Jordan, Russia, Thailand,
Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

Key Trends
* Explosion in social-media use met with censorship: In response to
the growing popularity of internet-based applications like Facebook,
YouTube, and Twitter, many governments have started targeting the new
platforms as part of their censorship strategies. In 12 of the 37
countries examined, the authorities consistently or temporarily
imposed total bans on these services or their equivalents.

* Bloggers and ordinary users face arrest: Bloggers, online
journalists, and human rights activists, as well as ordinary people,
increasingly face arrest and imprisonment for their online writings.
In 23 of the 37 countries, including several democratic states, at
least one blogger or internet user was detained because of online
communications.

* Cyberattacks against regime critics intensifying: Governments and
their sympathizers are increasingly using technical attacks to disrupt
activists' online networks, eavesdrop on their communications, and
cripple their websites. Such attacks were reported in at least 12 of
the 37 countries covered.

* Politically motivated censorship and content manipulation growing: A
total of 15 of the 37 countries examined were found to engage in
substantial online blocking of politically relevant content. In these
countries, website blocks are not sporadic, but rather the result of
an apparent national policy to restrict users' access to information,
including the websites of independent news outlets and human rights
groups.

* Governments exploit centralized internet infrastructure to limit
access: Centralized government control over a country's connection to
international internet traffic poses a significant threat to free
online expression, particularly at times of political turmoil. In 12
of the 37 countries examined, the authorities used their control over
infrastructure to limit widespread access to politically and socially
controversial content, and in extreme cases, cut off access to the
internet entirely.

"The ability to communicate political views, organize, debate, and
have access to critical information is as important online as it is in
the offline world," said Sanja Kelly, managing editor of the report.
"A more urgent response is needed to protect bloggers and other
internet users from the sorts of restrictions that repressive
governments have already imposed on traditional media," Kelly added.

Other Important Country Findings:

* China: The Chinese government boasts the world's most sophisticated
system of internet controls, and its approach has become even more
restrictive in recent years. Blocks on Facebook and Twitter have
become permanent, while domestic alternatives to these applications
have risen in popularity despite being forced to censor their users.
The authorities imposed a months-long shutdown of internet access in
the western region of Xinjiang during the report's coverage period,
and at least 70 people were in jail for internet-related reasons as of
2010.

* Iran: Since the protests that followed the flawed presidential
election of June 12, 2009, the Iranian authorities have waged a fierce
campaign against internet freedom, including deliberately slowing
internet speeds at critical times and using hacking to disable
opposition websites. An increasing number of bloggers have been
threatened, arrested, tortured, or kept in solitary confinement, and
at least one died in prison.

* Pakistan: In recent years - under both military rule and an
ostensibly democratic civilian government - the authorities have
adopted various measures to exert some control over the internet and
the sharing of information online. In mid-2010, a new
Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Evaluation of Websites was
established to identify sites for blocking based on vaguely defined
offenses against the state or religion.

* United States: Access to the internet in the United States remains
open and free compared with the rest of the world. Users face very few
restrictions on their ability to access and publish content online,
and courts have consistently held that prohibitions against government
regulation of speech apply to material published on the internet.
However, the United States lags behind many major industrialized
countries in terms of broadband penetration and connection speeds, and
the government's surveillance powers are cause for some concern.

Read the full report at:
http://www.ifex.org/international/2011/04/18/net_freedom/

 --

Regards.
--------------------------
Fouad Bajwa
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