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By Jake Chung / Staff writer, and CNA
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Taiwan ranked seventh in terms of Internet freedom, and first in Asia, with a score of 79, Freedom House’s Freedom of the Net report found.
The report, issued yesterday by the Washington-based think tank, found that Internet freedom scores dropped for the US and Germany, showing that even in democratic countries in the West, the Internet is facing more restrictions, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Freedom of the Net report coauthor Kian Vesteinsson said autocratic countries and those leaning toward authoritarianism are seeing more severe repression against Internet freedom, as such restrictions are a common method authoritarian governments use to maintain power.
A supporter of Net Neutrality, Lance Brown Eyes, protests the US Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal the program in Los Angeles on Nov. 28, 2017.
Photo: Reuters
Conditions in democratic countries have also deteriorated this year, he said.
“In North America and Western Europe, we are seeing a shrinking of civic space,” Vesteinsson added. “Some countries are tightening restrictions on what they consider hateful or controversial speech.”
Freedom House said despite global declines, Taiwan continues to maintain strong protections for online expression and access to information, supported by its democratic institutions and active civil society.
German authorities have pursued criminal prosecutions against those criticizing politicians, while threats from the far-right actors in Germany are resulting in online self-censorship, the report said.
The US received a record low score of 73 due to the detention of foreign nationals for nonviolent online expression, a restriction of civic space that is stifling digital activism, it said.
AFP said the administration of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Germany’s free speech record, saying its Nazi past makes it critical to impose safeguards.
Global Internet freedom is trending down for the 15th consecutive year, with many nations that are still considered “free” seeing a regression in scores, the Freedom of the Net report showed.
Countries seeing the most severe regression in Internet freedom include Kenya, Venezuela and Georgia, the report said.
Kenya saw the most severe decline, with its authorities initiating a seven-hour Internet shutdown in response to nationwide protests in June last year.
In Georgia, the ruling Georgian Dream party has enacted repressive measures aimed at civil society.
The student-led uprising in Bangladesh, which ousted the country’s repressive leadership in August last year, has led to positive reforms and earned the country the year’s most substantial improvement, according to the report.
“China and Myanmar remained the world’s worst environments for Internet freedom, while Iceland held its place as the freest online environment,” the report added.
Iceland (94), Estonia (91), Chile (87), Costa Rica (86) and Canada (85) led the global rankings.
