FREEDOM ON THE NET 2021 The Global Drive to Control Big Tech The Continued Assault on Internet Freedom A rundown of global findings and prominent changes to countries’ internet freedom scores G lobal internet freedom declined for the 11th consecutive year. The environment for human rights online deteriorated in 30 countries this year, while only 18 countries registered net gains. The largest decline occurred in Myanmar, followed by Belarus and Uganda. Ecuador experienced the largest improvement, followed by The Gambia. The United States ranked 12th overall, while Iceland was once again the top performer. For the seventh consecutive year, China was found to have the worst conditions for internet freedom. Freedom on the Net is an annual study of human rights in the digital sphere. The project assesses internet freedom in 70 countries, accounting for 88 percent of the world’s internet users. This report, the 11th in its series, covered developments between June 2020 and May 2021. More GLOBAL INTERNET POPULATION BY 2021 FOTN STATUS Freedom on the Net assesses 88 percent of the world’s internet user population. NOT FREE 39% NOT ASSESSED 12% 4 @freedomonthenet PARTLY FREE 28% FREE 21% than 80 analysts and advisers contributed to this year’s edition, using a standard methodology to determine each country’s internet freedom score on a 100-point scale, with 21 separate indicators pertaining to obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights. The 2021 edition includes six new countries: Costa Rica, Ghana, Iraq, Nicaragua, Serbia, and Taiwan. The Freedom on the Net website features in-depth reports and data on each country’s conditions. Deepening repression around electoral disputes Internet freedom plummeted by 14 points in Myanmar— the largest decline ever recorded in Freedom on the Net—after the military refused to accept the results of the November 2020 general elections and launched a deadly coup in February 2021. Internet connectivity was cut off every night from then until April, and mobile services were suspended entirely beginning in March, leaving only fixed-line and wireless broadband services available to users during the day. After opposition to the coup gathered force online and overflowed into the streets, the junta also blocked social media, stripped the licenses of independent online news outlets, forced service providers to hand over personal data, and seized control of the telecommunications infrastructure. Protesters and ordinary users alike suffered physical assaults and enforced disappearances in retaliation for their online activities. In Belarus, another electoral dispute led to a seven-point decline in internet freedom. After authoritarian incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in a fraudulent presidential election in August 2020, citizens responded with peaceful protests, and security forces embarked on a violent crackdown to quell the demonstrations. The government repeatedly restricted access to the internet, #FreedomOnTheNet