[governance] US 2nd on Internet Freedom

Thu Jan 17 10:51:32 EST 2013

See the IREX and CIMA studies questioning the scientific bases of the methodologies of all the major rating systems -- described as highly subjective and generally confirming of the predelictions of the raters, who are chosen on a hit or miss basis (as I can personally attest, having served as a Freedom House rater). 

Rony Koven

-----Original Message-----
From: Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com>
To: governance <governance at lists.igcaucus.org>
Sent: Thu, Jan 17, 2013 4:37 pm
Subject: Re: [governance] US 2nd on Internet Freedom

              Well these kinds of metrics and systems are useful, up to a point    only, and who pays the piper often calls the tune. Of course, with    some it is the ideology that shapes the "success" factors.

    If one looks at Transparency Intl ratings, Iceland that had a    financial fraud of 3 x its GDP, was rated as the least corrupt.    After the financial crisis, and the lack of prosecutions for fraud    etc, with few exceptions, not much has changed... of course these    kinds of things do help "discipline" poor countries... 

    Riaz

On 2013/01/17 03:21 PM, Guru गुरु      wrote:

The study has been done by Freedom        House. 

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House         says

        "As of 2010, grants awarded from the US          government accounted for most of Freedom House's funding        ..."

        I suppose that helps to discount the wikileaks episode, cyber        warfare on nations, sopa/pipa .. 

        regards,
        Guru

        On 01/17/2013 02:35 PM, Riaz K Tayob wrote:

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

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. 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, Olena_T

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20130117/fdb3d88f/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t