Report: China, Myanmar Place Last in Internet Freedom Rankings

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Facts

  • According to the latest Freedom House internet freedom report, global online freedom has worsened for the 14th year in a row, with 27 out of 72 countries analyzed declining in freedom and China and Myanmar coming tied in last place.[1][2]
  • The report cites China's 'great firewall,' which blocks any content opposed to the ruling Communist Party. As for Myanmar's drop in the rankings, it cites the military junta's recent ban of virtual private networks (VPNs).[3]
  • The country with the largest single drop in the rankings was Kyrgyzstan, citing the government's ban on the website Kloop, which is funded by US-based groups. Azerbaijan and Iraq were also downgraded, while Zambia saw the greatest score increase.[4][5]
  • For India, the report said 'partisan officials forced tech companies to toe a favorable line ahead of the 2024 elections,' and for Brazil, it commended the high court for removing content that 'could undermine election integrity,' while adding that it needs more 'insight into these rules' impact on free expression.'[2]
  • The highest score went to Iceland, followed by Estonia, Canada, Chile, and Costa Rica. The US's score went unchanged at 76, with Freedom House noting concerns about government surveillance and 19 states using artificial intelligence in election campaigns.[6]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]Freedom House, [3]Barrons, [4]Firstpost, [5]Taipei Times and [6]Irrawaddy.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Freedom House. The draconian internet laws of China and Myanmar leave virtually no room for free thought among their respective populations. Not only is the entire internet essentially censored by these governments, but such restrictions lead to the silencing and arrests of journalists and activists. Neither of these countries can claim to support freedom until they create free and honest speech forums.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by X and Global Times. Biased reports like this should not distract from how Western countries impose their own censorship regimes. The US military has used artificial intelligence to identify and scrub online speech it doesn't like for years, most notably during COVID and the 2020 election. This is still going on in both Europe and the US. A report like this is skewed to the Western viewpoint.

Predictions