Better communication and more significant learning opportunities.
These were the primary two purposes that had worked behind the invention of the internet. Today, both the usage and purposes of the internet have widened. In recent days, we have been using the internet for almost anything.
Internet freedom also implies the type of websites that you can access. For example, torrenting is not permitted in many parts of the world. This in many ways amounts to internet censorship. Countries that permit torrenting and allow free access to websites like RARBG enjoy a higher rank on the Internet Freedom Scale.
Apart from being a platform for learning and knowing new things, and establishing communication across the globe, right now, it has become one of the ways of enlarging lives. It has become a different world, an online world.
But different countries have different rules and regulations when it comes to accessing the internet and different types of information. For example, the most favorite website for downloading free movies, games, software, The PirateBay can not be accessible in several countries.
Here, in this article, we will talk about internet freedom and how different countries have different scenarios for this. Before checking out the countries, let’s develop a basic idea about what internet freedom is.
What Is Internet Freedom?
The entire concept of “Internet Freedom” relates to a particular set of standards, which allow for the right to freedom of assembly and association, the right to expression, the right to have access to information, and lastly also the right to privacy when using any digital tech.
In several different ways, internet freedom is the extension of the rights that we enjoy as individuals, along with being expanded for protecting us while we are online. You might have an idea that all these rights are disregarded on a daily basis, especially in terms of online privacy and access to information.
Governments have the authority to not only ban digital services but also can create a lack of transparency in the name of censorship, content manipulation, and surveillance.
Some countries are worse than others, and now countries are capable of recording a perfect score. To some degree, all of us are suffering from a lack of internet freedom to some degree.
Countries With The Best Access
Actually, it is almost impossible to define a particular level of internet freedom, especially as any country affected is most likely to disagree with all the findings. Here, the best, or at least the most suitable measurement, is Freedom House.
It is a democracy advocacy group based in Washington DC, which was founded in the year of 1941. The Freedom House has assessed the level of internet freedom in around 70 countries across the globe.
The latest findings were released in 2021. They give the freedom score on the basis of the following things.
- Violations of user rights.
- Limits on content.
- Obstacles to access.
Here are some countries with their total score.
| Country Name | Total Score |
| Iceland | 96 |
| Estonia | 94 |
| Canada | 87 |
| Costa Rica | 87 |
| Taiwan | 80 |
| Germany | 79 |
| France | 78 |
| The United Kingdom | 78 |
| Georgia | 77 |
| Italy | 76 |
| Japan | 76 |
| The United States Of America | 75 |
| Australia | 75 |
Countries With The Worst Access
The year 2021 was actually a difficult year for internet freedom in the whole world. As per the studies of Freedom House, the greatest deteriorations were actually witnessed in Myanmar, Uganda, and Belarus.
In these locations, the state forces cracked down amid constitutional and electoral crises. Here are the worst ten countries with the worst internet freedom as per the data of Freedom House.
| Country Names | Total Score |
| China | 10 |
| Iran | 16 |
| Myanmar | 17 |
| Cuba | 21 |
| Vietnam | 22 |
| Saudi Arabia | 24 |
| Pakistan | 25 |
| Egypt | 26 |
| Ethiopia | 27 |
| UAE | 27 |
The Solution
These are the countries with the best internet freedom and the worst. However, the governments of some particular nations are banning access to different types of content and information on the internet; the people are finding enhanced ways to access them.
VPN is one of the most popular and simplest ways of accessing almost anything and everything in the online space. In case you want to access any banned website, you need to download and install VPN software.
You just need to turn on the VPN and select the location where the particular website is accessible, and you are good to go.
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Debamalya Mukherjee
