FREEDOM ON THE NET 2026 Seismic Shifts on the Global Internet Mass Mobilization Powered by Young People Around the world people used digital tools to mobilize landmark protests, many of them youth-led and oriented around economic issues or antigovernment sentiment. 16 India Iran Hungary After India's chief justice referred to unemployed young people as cockroaches, an activist launched a satirical social media account called Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). CJP fueled a nationwide movement demanding education and economic reforms. Authorities censored CJP’s internet presence and cracked down on protests. Protests around the sharp devaluation of Iran’s currency evolved into nationwide antigovernment demonstrations in January 2026. The regime used brutal violence to quash the protests, initiated mass arrests and unlawful killings of demonstrators, and enacted a 20-day internet shutdown. Hungarian lawmakers passed a law banning Pride events and authorizing authorities to employ facial-recognition tools to identify people at LGBT+ gatherings. In response, Hungarians mobilized online to coordinate the June 2025 Budapest Pride march, resulting in the largest turnout in the event’s history. Serbia Kenya Cuba Serbians continued to mobilize in student-led antigovernment protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a train station canopy that killed 16 people. The government has harshly repressed the protests, many of which were organized using digital tools. Young Kenyans used social media to organize marches demanding justice for those killed in the June 2024 #RejectFinanceBill protests on the first anniversary of their deaths. The protests were once again met with a crackdown and police brutality. Despite enormous risks to mobilization in Cuba, some dissent persists. After the state-owned telecommunications provider abruptly increased prices in 2025, young Cubans condemned the decision online. Cubans also took to social media to commemorate the anniversary of the July 2021 protests, which authorities had brutally repressed. @freedomhouse #FreedomOnTheNet