Governments Use COVID-19 Pandemic to Restrict Internet Freedom
According to Freedom House, authorities in dozens of countries are citing the pandemic as a reason to justify expanding online surveillance and introducing new technologies that were previously considered too invasive. This has led to increased censorship and the growth of technological systems for social control, the report states.
Experts emphasize that society has become more dependent on digital technologies due to the pandemic, while the internet is becoming less and less free. Without proper privacy safeguards and the rule of law, these technologies can easily be used for political repression.
Freedom House specialists assigned an internet freedom index to 65 countries on a 100-point scale. Their research shows that the level of internet freedom has declined for the tenth year in a row. The scale used to assign the index is based on 21 indicators, including obstacles to internet access, restrictions on content, and violations of user rights.
According to experts, China has held the worst position for the sixth consecutive year. The report notes that Chinese authorities have “combined low- and high-tech tools not only to combat the coronavirus outbreak, but also to prevent internet users from sharing information from independent sources and challenging the official ideology.” Experts point to a growing trend of “Chinese-style digital authoritarianism” worldwide and a “splintering” of the internet, as each government introduces its own rules.
Freedom House reports that out of 3.8 billion internet users worldwide, only 20% live in countries with a free internet, 32% in countries with “partly free” internet, and 35% in places where online activity is not free.
The report highlights a noticeable decrease in internet freedom in countries where authorities have shut down the internet, including Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, and India, as well as in Rwanda, where authorities use “sophisticated spyware to track and intimidate exiled dissidents.”
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