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September 25, 2021 - For the eleventh consecutive year, Internet freedom in the world falls again. China's black jersey, the biggest worsening in Myanmar, but the United States' score also decreases for the fifth consecutive year. Italy is on the whole free. This is stated in the annual report of the 'Think Tank Freedom House', the international non-governmental organization that conducts research and awareness activities on democracy, political freedoms and human rights. It examined 70 nations, evaluated on 21 different indicators such as obstacles to accessing the network, limits in the content that can be published, violation of users.



The report, in particular, highlights that in the last year 48 nations out of 70 analyzed - equal to 88.8% of global users - new rules have been prepared for technology companies in terms of content, data and competition. "With few positive exceptions - explains the organization - the drive to regulate the technology industry, which in some cases derives from real problems such as online harassment and market manipulative practices, is exploited to stifle freedom of expression and achieve greater access to private data. The victims are the users ".



The greatest worsening was documented in Myanmar, Bieolorussia and Uganda, where state forces repressed electoral and constitutional crises. The drop in the score of 14 points in Myanmar (now at 17 points) is the largest recorded since the beginning of the 'Freedom on the net' project. 



The

Chinese

, however, with 10 points ranks as the worst country for freedom of the internet for the seventh consecutive year with "pandemic Covid-19 remains one of the most heavily censored topics". The score of the

United States

(75) fell for the fifth consecutive year with "false information and manipulated that have influenced public acceptance of the results of the presidential elections of 2020". L'

Italy

(76 points) overall it is indicated as free but there are new laws or directives that could lead to an increase in censorship and reduce anonymity online. The highest score goes to

Iceland

(96), followed by

Estonia

(94) and

Costa Rica

(87), the first country in the world to declare access to the internet a human right. 



Other statistics from the report reveal that 80% of the nations surveyed arrested people for their online speeches; in 41% of nations the internet or mobile networks have been stopped for political reasons; 46% of nations blocked or restricted access to social platforms, a choice that occurred mainly in conjunction with protests or elections.



Finally, on the surveillance side, the report indicates that the authorities of at least 45 out of 70 nations are suspected of exploiting spyware (spy software) or technologies for the extraction of data provided by specialized companies such as Nso Group, which ended up in the storm for Pegasus software. used by some governments against journalists, activists and politicians.

Finally, to those involved in legislation, 'Freedom House' suggests the need to provide mechanisms that prevent the centralization of power in the hands of a few dominant operators, both in the public and private sectors.


More countries arrested people for nonviolent political, social or religious speech last year than in any previous year.

https://t.co/eSrvCo2J3C via @inafried @Axios Login

- Freedom House (@freedomhouse) September 24, 2021