[governance] US 2nd on Internet Freedom

Riaz K Tayob riaz.tayob at gmail.com
Thu Jan 17 04:05:00 EST 2013 


  U.S. Ranks Second in Internet Freedom, Behind Estonia

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U-s-ranks-second-in-internet-freedom-behind-estonia-4bc8aa4e79

Alex Fitzpatrick
Sep 27, 2012

The United States has the second highest degree of Internet freedom in 
the world, according to a new study from Freedom House. What country's 
ahead of America? Estonia, a country of 1.29 million in northeast Europe.



    Estonia

Why does Estonia top the list? According to Freedom House, it "ranks 
among the most wired and technologically advanced countries in the world."

"With a high internet penetration rate and widespread e-commerce and 
e-government services embedded into the daily lives of individuals and 
organizations, Estonia has become a model for free internet access as a 
development engine for society," reads the report.

Estonia's commitment to technological innovation in government is 
especially remarkable considering the former Soviet state's weak economy 
following the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Freedom 
House credits the country's first independent leaders with putting the 
country on a track towards economic development through technology and 
innovation.

"The country's new leadership. . .perceived the expansion of information 
and communication technologies (ICTs) as a key to economic growth and 
invested heavily in their development," reads the report.

/Update:/ As a /Mashable/ reader pointed out, NATO's Cooperative Cyber 
Defense Centre of Excellence was built in Estonia in 2008, resulting in 
the funneling of funds to improve the country's IT infrastructure.

Freedom House ranks countries' "Internet Freedom Status" in three main 
ways: obstacles to access, limits on content and violations of users' 
rights. It also factors in tertiary factors, including internet 
penetration and blogger arrests. Estonia got high marks in almost every 
category.


    The United States

The United States got nearly as excellent marks, with 78% internet 
penetration and no notable arrests of bloggers. However, the debate over 
the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), two 
bills considered a threat by many Internet free speech advocates, raised 
some eyebrows.

    "Internet access in the United States remains open and fairly free
    compared with the rest of the world," reads the report. "Courts have
    consistently held that prohibitions against government regulation of
    speech apply to material published on the internet, but the
    government's surveillance powers are cause for some concern. In
    early 2012, campaigns by civil society and technology companies
    helped to halt passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the
    Protect IP Act (PIPA), which were criticized for their potentially
    negative effects on free speech."

Freedom House also warned of greater U.S. government interference in the 
open Internet.

    "Several developments in recent years, however, have placed the
    government and internet freedom advocates at odds over aspects of
    internet regulation as well as issues surrounding online
    surveillance and privacy. The United States lags behind many major
    industrialized countries in terms of broadband penetration, and
    network operators have challenged recent rules concerning network
    neutrality. The current administration appears committed to
    maintaining broad surveillance powers with the aim of combating
    terrorism, child pornography, and other criminal activity. Moreover,
    reports have emerged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
    is seeking expanded authority to control the design of internet
    services to ensure that communications can be intercepted when
    necessary."

At the bottom of the list were Iran, Cuba and China, while Belarus, 
Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Thailand and seven other countries received a 
rating of "Not Free."

To read the full report, visit Freedom House 
<http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2012>. Are 
you surprised Estonia topped the list? Should the United States be where 
it is, higher or lower? Share your thoughts in the comments.

/Image courtesy of iStockphoto 
<http://www.istockphoto.com/mashableoffer.php>, Olena_T 
<http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-18654807-global-communications-america.php?st=089de8e>/

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