[governance] US 2nd on Internet Freedom

Thu Jan 17 11:07:13 EST 2013

As co-author of the 2012 report for Brazil, I can attest that the rating is
mostly subjective. The author attributes scores for different elements, all
determined by Freedom House.
Also, and this is perhaps more troubling, the published scores aren't
always those determined by the authors.
Best,
Ivar

On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 1:51 PM, Koven Ronald <kovenronald at aol.com> wrote:

> 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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_federal_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<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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