''Freedom on the Net'' is an annual report providing analytical reports and numerical ratings regarding the state of

Internet freedom Internet freedom is an umbrella term that encompasses digital rights, freedom of information, the right to Internet access, freedom from Internet censorship, and net neutrality. Some believe that Internet freedom is not a human right. They think t ...

for countries worldwide, published by the American non-profit research and advocacy group

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

. The countries surveyed represent a sample with a broad range of geographical diversity and levels of economic development, as well as varying levels of political and media freedom.

Methodology

The surveys ask a set of questions designed to measure each country's level of Internet and digital media freedom, as well as the access and openness of other digital means of transmitting information, particularly mobile phones and text messaging services. Results are presented for three areas:^p.31 * Obstacles to Access: infrastructural and economic barriers to access; governmental efforts to block specific applications or technologies; legal and ownership control over internet and mobile phone access providers. * Limits on Content: filtering and blocking of websites; other forms of censorship and self-censorship; manipulation of content; the diversity of online news media; and usage of digital media for social and political activism. * Violations of User Rights: legal protections and restrictions on online activity; surveillance and limits on privacy; and repercussions for online activity, such as legal prosecution, imprisonment, physical attacks, or other forms of harassment. The results from the three areas are combined into a total score for a country (from 100 for "Most Free" to 0 for "Least Free") and countries are rated as "Free" (100 to 70), "Partly Free" (69 to 40), or "Not Free" (39 to 0) based on the totals.^p.31

Results

Starting in 2009 Freedom House has produced eleven editions of the report.''Freedom on the Net 2009''
Freedom House, accessed 16 April 2012''Freedom on the Net 2011''
Freedom House, accessed 15 April 2012''Freedom on the Net 2012''
Freedom House, accessed 24 September 2012''Freedom on the Net 2013''
Freedom House, 3 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013. There was no report in 2010. The reports generally cover the period from June through May.

2020 results

Comparison with Other Datasets

Several other organizations measure internet freedom, such as the

V-Dem Institute The V-Dem Institute (Varieties of Democracy) is an independent research institute founded by Professor Staffan I. Lindberg in 2014 that studies the qualities of government. The institute is funded by a number of government organizations, Worl ...

Access Now Access Now is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 with a mission to defend and extend the digital civil rights of people around the world. Access Now supports programs including an annual conference on Human Rights (RightsCon), an index ...

, and the

OpenNet Initiative The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) was a joint project whose goal was to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employed a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigato ...

.Mechkova, V., Daniel P., Brigitte S.,&Steven W. (2020). Digital Society Project Dataset v2.Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project http://digitalsocietyproject.org/"West Censoring East: The Use of Western Technologies by Middle East Censors, 2010–2011"
Helmi Noman and Jillian C. York, OpenNet Initiative, March 2011 V-Dem's Digital Society project measures a range of questions related to internet censorship, misinformation online, and internet shutdowns using surveys of experts. Access Now maintains an annual list of internet shutdowns, throttling, and blockages as part of the #KeepItOn project. The OpenNet Initiative formerly kept data on internet censorship of particular websites. Freedom on the Net's report covers a range of concepts that the other datasets do not, such as new legislation passed, but lacks the country coverage of other datasets. Expert surveys such as Freedom House and V-Dem have been found to be more prone to false positives (the are more likely to find uncorroborated instances of censorship). While remote sensing such as the kind done by Access Now and OpenNet Initiative are more likely to be prone to false negatives (they may miss some instances of real censorship). The

Millennium Challenge Corporation The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that h ...

used the Key Internet Controls portion of the Freedom on the Net report to inform its country selection process until 2020 when this report was replaced with data on internet shutdowns from Access Now.

References

{{reflist Digital rights Works about the Internet