Freedom House articles about her connection to a corruption scandal from Google search results in the country. Three months later, India’s Supreme Court ordered the government to explain how it determines when to restrict internet access during school exams to counter cheating; the ruling may bring greater clarity to the country’s murky censorship regime. Although Uganda’s government introduced repressive restrictions on online speech during the coverage period— including a law that imposes 20-year prison terms for sharing information about same-sex sexual conduct—the Constitutional Court intervened in January 2023 to repeal a section of the Computer Misuse Act that had been used to imprison people for their critical expression online. Also during the coverage period, concerted policy action against spyware technology was carried forward by an ongoing flood of revelations about the extent to which human rights defenders, journalists, and government officials have been targeted by the tools. The administration of US president Joseph Biden stood out as a global leader in March 2023, when it issued an executive order barring federal Digital activism, civil society advocacy, and independent judiciaries drove realworld improvements for human rights online during the coverage period. agencies from using commercial spyware that poses a threat to national security or counterintelligence, or that could be employed by foreign governments to violate human rights or target Americans. Months later, US officials also added the spyware firms Intellexa and Cytrox to its Entity List, constraining their ability to do business with US companies in certain circumstances. Finally, 11 democracies—including the United States, Costa Rica, and several European countries— agreed to limit the use of spyware at home, improve information-sharing with industry and civil society, and galvanize allies to adopt similar safeguards. Georgian people mobilized in March 2023 against a restrictive “foreign agents” bill. (Zurab Tsertsvadze/AFP via Getty Images) @freedomhouse freedomhouse.org 7