Freedom House • • Does the government block, or compel service providers to block, certain protocols, ports, and functionalities within such platforms and apps (e.g., Voice-over-Internet-Protocol or VoIP, video streaming, multimedia messaging, Secure Sockets Layer or SSL), either permanently or during specific events? Do restrictions on connectivity disproportionately affect marginalized communities, such as inhabitants of certain regions or those belonging to different ethnic, religious, gender, LGBT+, migrant, and other relevant groups? 4. Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? (0–6 points) • Is there a legal or de facto monopoly on the provision of fixed-line, mobile, and public internet access? • Does the state place extensive legal, regulatory, or economic requirements on the establishment or operation of service providers? • Do licensing requirements, such as retaining customer data or preventing access to certain content, place an onerous financial burden on service providers? 5. Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? (0–4 points) • Are there explicit legal guarantees that protect the independence and autonomy of any regulatory body overseeing the internet (exclusively or as part of a broader mandate) from political or commercial interference? • Is the process for appointing members of regulatory bodies transparent and representative of different stakeholders’ legitimate interests? • Are decisions taken by regulatory bodies, particularly those relating to the internet, seen to be fair and to take meaningful notice of comments from stakeholders in society? • Are decisions taken by regulatory bodies seen to be apolitical and independent from changes in government? • Are efforts by access providers and other internet-related organizations to establish self-regulatory mechanisms permitted and encouraged? B. LIMITS ON CONTENT (0–35 POINTS) 1. Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? (0–6 points) • Does the state use, or compel service providers to use, technical means to restrict freedom of opinion and expression, for example by blocking or filtering websites and online content featuring journalism, discussion of human rights, educational materials, or political, social, cultural, religious, and artistic expression? • Does the state use, or compel service providers to use, technical means to block or filter access to websites that may be socially or legally problematic (e.g., those related to gambling, pornography, copyright violations, illegal drugs) in lieu of more effective remedies, or in a manner that inflicts collateral damage on content and activities that are protected under international human rights standards? • Does the state block or order the blocking of entire social media platforms, communication apps, bloghosting platforms, discussion forums, and other web domains for the purpose of censoring the content that appears on them? • Is there blocking of tools that enable users to bypass censorship? • Does the state procure, or compel services providers to procure, advanced technology to automate censorship or increase its scope? 2. Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, content hosts, or digital platforms to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? (0–4 points) • Are administrative, judicial, or extralegal measures used to order the deletion of content from the internet, particularly journalism, discussion of human rights, educational materials, or political, social, cultural, religious, and artistic expression, either prior to or after its publication? @freedomhouse freedomhouse.org 31