FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2023 Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy Democracies should collaborate to incentivize democratic progress. This effort must include a wide range of democracies, not just those in North America, Europe, and East Asia, and must incorporate solutions driven by democratic governments all over the world. Democracies should use development finance and country compacts to boost inclusive growth, encourage democratic governance, and prevent debt traps. They should focus on negotiating narrow, high-impact economic agreements that set high standards for governance and rights protection. Protect press freedom and personal expression. Among the many rights under attack globally over the last 17 years, Freedom House data show that freedom of expression, both for the media and for individuals, has declined more than any other civil liberty, and infringement on free expression is one of biggest drivers of global democratic decline. Democracies should scale up efforts to support independent media—including public-interest journalism and exile media—through financial assistance and innovative financing models, technical support, skills training, and mentoring, and should condemn attacks against journalists and media outlets. They should work to address disinformation and misinformation and support technologies that allow for expanded transmission of fact-based reporting and information into countries where authoritarian regimes are controlling or limiting the internet. They should also expand protections for journalists who face physical attacks and harassment, including by supporting the creation of emergency visas for those at risk and bringing those who threaten or attack them to justice. Laws should protect the free flow of information, grant journalists access to elected officials, allow the public to use freedom of information requests, and guard against state monopolization of media outlets. Governments and internet service providers should make every effort to support and maintain reliable access to the internet. Like media freedom, the freedom of personal expression faces growing threats, both online and off. The expression of individual identities, religious views, and political opinions is a core component of being human. Democracies must fiercely guard this right at home and vigorously work to defend it abroad, as the climate of fear created by harsh repression of personal expression helps dictators remain in power. To protect expression online, foreign assistance 34 @ FreedomHouse for internet freedom should prioritize the provision of technologies that help individuals in closed environments circumvent government censorship, protect themselves against surveillance, and overcome restrictions on connectivity. Assistance should also include digital security and digital activism trainings for human rights defenders, and programs that seek to strengthen judicial independence and enhance technical literacy among judges and others within the legal system. Governments should carefully scrutinize the export of technologies and products that could be used to violate human rights, placing strict limits on the sale of those that enable monitoring, surveillance, interception, or collection of personal information and communications. Democracies should reform domestic surveillance practices so that they adhere to the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance; strictly regulate the use of surveillance tools; protect robust encryption, which is vital for the security of activists, journalists, and ordinary people around the world; and strengthen data-privacy protections. Dramatically ramp up support for human rights defenders and for countries and regions at critical junctures. While governments, movements, and activists working for democratic progress must lead the change in their own countries, the odds may be stacked against them without significant support from foreign governments and organizations that are committed to the expansion of democracy and human rights. If democracy assistance is to be effective, it must be provided at a sufficient scale and in a sustained manner. Those working on the front lines to uphold and protect fundamental freedoms for their fellow citizens are the true agents of positive change in any country. But courageous action of the sort the world has witnessed in Iran, where protesters are boldly defying a brutal regime, warrants a clear demonstration of international solidarity. Democratic governments should help human rights defenders and civil society groups remain in their countries of origin whenever possible. Technical assistance and training on issues like coalition and constituency building, advocacy, organizational development, and physical and digital security are particularly helpful, as is flexible funding that affords groups the agility to respond to needs as they arise. Government agencies that provide foreign assistance #FreedomInTheWorld