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Internet freedom has declined in the US for the fifth consecutive year, leaving America out of the top 10 countries. freedom house‘s annual global internet freedom rankings.
In the new Freedom on the Net 2021 report, the USA ranked 12th, along with Australia, from seventh in the previous year’s report.
The 2021 report observed a “full environment” for internet freedom surrounding the 2020 election and the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
The report says tech companies banned Mr Trump by his supporters over the January 6 US Capitol riots, sparking a new debate about the companies’ power to moderate politicians’ speeches and prevent offline violence.
“False, misleading and manipulated information continued to spread online, even affecting the public acceptance of the 2020 presidential election results,” he said. freedom house‘s report. “The new administration has taken promising steps to implement stronger protections for internet users.”
NS freedom house The report’s authors accuse the US government’s intrusive approach to the internet of allowing authoritarian leaders in foreign countries to fill the emerging gap.
“The United States played a leading role in shaping early internet norms around freedom of expression and free markets, but its laissez faire approach to the tech industry created opportunities for authoritarian manipulation, data exploitation, and rampant abuse,” the report said.
Referring to the emerging “absence of a common global vision for a free and open internet” freedom house He argued that authoritarian governments in this way “there is a vague need to take back control of the internet from foreign powers, multinational corporations, and in some cases civil society.”
freedom house is a non-profit group that studies threats to human rights. It used more than 80 analysts and consultants to rate 70 countries on a 100-point scale and found that global internet freedom had fallen for 11 years.
Scores of 100-70 meant that a country was “free”, scores of 69-40 meant that it was “partly free” and scores of 39-0 meant that a country was not free.
The report said 56 countries are witnessing “record-breaking crackdown on freedom of expression online”, with 56 countries arresting or convicting people for online speech, 21 countries blocking access to social media platforms during particularly turbulent political times, and at least 20 countries suspending internet access. .
Iceland tops the report for the third year in a row with 96 points, while China scores the worst with 10 points.
The US scored 75, which puts it behind allies like the UK, Germany, and Canada, as well as much smaller nations like Taiwan and Estonia.
“For the seventh year in a row, China ranks as the worst environment for internet freedom,” the report said. “Chinese authorities have imposed brutal prison terms for online dissent, independent reporting, and mundane daily communication. The COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the most heavily censored topics.
The report also included the actions of the Chinese government against companies in its own country in the name of its own power.
“Authorities have also cracked down on the country’s tech giants, citing their abuses of competition and data protection, although the campaign has further concentrated power in the hands of the authoritarian state,” the report said.
Analysts rated countries by examining three categories, including access blocks, content restrictions, and user rights violations.
NS freedom house The report recommended that, among other things, US policymakers repeal surveillance laws, pass federal electronic privacy laws, and protect encryption.
The report said that democratic nations should ensure that new internet regulations encourage greater freedom of expression, instead finding countries that give the private sector their own will.
The report cites authoritarian regimes in China and Russia as examples where the state has taken drastic measures to “further subordinate the private sector to the state’s repressive political interests.”
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