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Internet freedom around the world has decreased this year, thanks in part to China's efforts to export its digital surveillance standards, according to a new report by Watchdog Freedom House.
According to the group's 2018 report, Freedom on the Net, global Internet freedoms declined for the eighth consecutive year, as governments increased the collection of user data and used repressive laws on "false information" to reduce silence the opponents. Freedom House found that 26 of the 65 countries covered by the annual report showed a decline in Web freedoms, including the United States.
"Democracies struggle in the digital age, as China exports its model of censorship and surveillance to control information both inside and outside its borders," he said. said Freedom House president Michael J. Abramowitz.
The report revealed how hate speech, rumors and social media propaganda have fueled deadly violence this year in Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka.
But Freedom House concluded that China was "once again the worst abuser of Internet freedom." In addition to its own sophisticated censorship device on the Internet, called "Great Firewall", China has begun to train other countries in the manner of imposing its model. It has also provided state-of-the-art equipment, including facial recognition tools and advanced data, that will help repressive regimes control the lives of their citizens.
"A cohort of countries is moving towards digital authoritarianism by adopting the Chinese model," wrote Adrian Shahbaz, director of research on technology and democracy at Freedom House.
Conditions in China have also continued to deteriorate, said Freedom House, including with increased surveillance in the Xinjiang region in the west of the country. According to a recent United Nations report, more than one million members of the Uyghur Muslim minority are believed to be held in Xinjiang "re-education" centers. China has defended mass internment as a crackdown on religious extremism.
Freedom House has criticized the repeal of the protections of internet neutrality as a blow to civil rights and privacy advocates. Under previous regulations, Internet service providers were prohibited from offering priority content-based Web traffic speeds. source or destination.
The watchdog also worried about the proliferation of misinformation and "hyperpartisan content" on social media platforms in the United States, particularly as a result of Russia's interference in the United States. Presidential election of 2016. Congressional testimony revealed that 126 million Facebook users would have been exposed to content intended to sow partisan discord, while Twitter reportedly revealed tens of thousands of real accounts and artifacts from Russia.
Read more: Russia is already trying to undermine the 2018 elections
But efforts to counter misinformation online have also been found to be vulnerable to abuse: 17 countries have proposed or approved "false information" laws that would ultimately restrict freedom of expression and criminalize dissent, the statement said. watch dog.
In order to preserve the freedoms on the Internet, decision-makers and private companies need to improve the security and data protection of users, said Freedom House.
"Ensuring the freedom of the Internet against the rise of digital authoritarianism is fundamental to protecting democracy as a whole," he said. "Technology should empower citizens to make their own social, economic and political choices without constraint or hidden manipulation."
