Myanmar’s military junta has suppressed dissent by imposing restrictions on online access and speech. This includes widespread internet shutdowns and building a mass censorship and surveillance regime. A new report from Freedom House found that global internet freedom has declined for the 14th consecutive year.
China and Myanmar ranked joint last for 2024, with a score of nine out of 100. The report points to censorship technology introduced in May that blocked most virtual private networks (VPNs). This cut residents off from tools they had relied on to safely and securely bypass internet controls.
Myanmar’s throttling of internet freedoms was designed to suppress the activities of civilian pro-democracy activists and armed resistance groups. Access to information online was described as a matter of life and death for many people in Myanmar. Meanwhile, China’s government has continued efforts to isolate its domestic internet from the rest of the world.
It has blocked international traffic to some government websites and imposed huge fines on people using VPNs.
Internet freedom declines worldwide
In response to the report, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Chinese citizens enjoy all rights and freedoms in accordance with the law.
The ministry spokesperson stated that this so-called report is completely false and has ulterior motives. The report paints a grim picture of global internet freedom, with conditions for human rights online deteriorating in 27 out of 72 countries surveyed. Almost 80% of people live in countries where individuals were arrested for posting their political, social, or religious views online.
In a record 43 countries, people were physically attacked or killed in retaliation for their online activities. The Central Asian nation Kyrgyzstan showed the biggest drop in internet freedoms as President Sadyr Japarov ramped up efforts to silence digital media and suppress online organizing. Conversely, Iceland retained its status as having the most free online environment with a score of 94 out of 100.
The report also covers online disinformation campaigns and political interference in the run-up to elections. In the United States, pressure on independent experts has left people less informed about influence operations ahead of the November elections. False allegations against such researchers prompted a wave of litigation, subpoenas from top Republicans, and online harassment aimed at participants.
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