FREEDOM ON THE NET 2026 Seismic Shifts on the Global Internet 3. Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? (0–6 points) • • • • • Does the government (or the de facto government in a given area) restrict, or compel service providers, including low Earth orbit satellite internet providers, to restrict internet connectivity by slowing or shutting down internet connections during specific events (such as protests or elections), either locally or nationally? Does the government centralize internet infrastructure in a manner that could facilitate restrictions on connectivity? Does the government block, or compel service providers to block, widely used social media platforms and communication apps? Does the government block, or compel service providers to block, certain protocols, ports, and functionalities within such platforms and apps (for example, Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP], video streaming, multimedia messaging, or Secure Sockets Layer [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, diaspora, 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 burdensome legal, regulatory, or economic requirements on the establishment or operation of service providers, including low Earth orbit satellite internet providers? 5. Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers, digital platforms, and the internet more broadly 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 regulatory bodies 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 relating to the internet fair, apolitical, and independent from political pressure, and designed to take meaningful notice of comments from stakeholders in society? 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) • • • • • 28 Does the state use, or compel service providers to use, technical means to block or filter websites and online content featuring political, social, cultural, religious, or 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 (such as those related to gambling, pornography, copyright violations, or illegal drugs) 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, and other web domains for the purpose of censoring the content that appears on them? Is there blocking of tools that enable individuals to bypass censorship, such as virtual private networks (VPNs)? Does the state procure, or compel services providers to procure, censorship-enabling technology, including that which uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools, to automate censorship or increase its scope? @freedomhouse #FreedomOnTheNet