Ranking countries by the level of freedom of the Internet 2016

Freedom of the Internet is becoming an increasingly ephemeral term, as many states control not only social networks and the media, but also censorship programs for voice communications and messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Skype and Telegram. Currently, they are partially or completely limited in a number of countries to protect the incomes of national telecommunications companies, since users are turning to new services instead of making calls via fixed or mobile communication.

Freedom House has released the annual Internet Freedom Ranking in various countries of the world .For its compilation, 65 countries were assessed on three criteria:

  1. access to the Internet;
  2. restrictions on the placement of content;
  3. various violations of user rights.

The level of freedom in the Network was designated in points from 0 to 100. The less points, the more independent the Internet in the country.

Introducing the top 10 countries with the most free Internet in the world.

  • 10. Georgia, 25 points
  • 9. France, 25 points
  • 8. England, 23 points
  • 7. Japan, 22 points
  • 6. Australia, 21 points
  • 5. Germany, 19 points
  • 4. The United States,18 points
  • 3. Canada, 16 points
  • 2. Iceland, 6 points
  • 1. Estonia, 6 points

10. Georgia, 25 points

Compared to 2015, Georgia has improved its position by moving up one point. According to the authors of the report on freedom of the Internet in 2016, in Georgia, web content of any content is not censored.

9. France, 25 points

After the terrorist attack in the editorial office of the scandalous magazine Charlie Hebdo, the French Ministry of Internal Affairs circulated a draft resolution, according to which the agency can require providers to block dangerous websites at the domain level. In this way, Europe has taken an important step towards limiting civil liberties in order to protect society from terrorism.

8. England, 23 points

All Internet traffic in the UK passes through a special filter system. It blocks access to indecent photos of children. If the user searches for such content, he receives a message "URL not found".

7. Japan, 22 points

Despite the high level of freedom in the Japanese segment of the Internet there is a very tough punishment for network pirates. Those who illegally download files threaten either "devastation of the wallet" by 2 million yen( 25,700 dollars) or forwarding to prison and up to 2 years.

6. Australia, 21 points

In Australia in 2016 there was a "cyber-saline".One of the tasks of Toby Fikin appointed to this post is to protect the Internet from state censorship.

5. Germany, 19 points

After the terrorist attacks in Europe, Germany passed a law requiring providers to save telecommunications data for up to 10 weeks, despite violent opposition protests and the Justice Court's ruling that such claims are contrary to basic human rights.

4. USA, 18 points

Loud terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States led to increased pressure on technological and Internet companies. They are forced to cooperate more closely with the law enforcement authorities with regard to access to subscriber data.

3. Canada, 16 points

Sometimes freedom for some in Canada turns into imprisonment for others. Canadian Greg Elliot expressed on the Internet disagreement with the campaign of Canadian feminists Stephanie Guthrie and Heather Reilly, agitating against the creator of one video game, in which you can beat a feminist blogger. After this activists appealed to the court, since Elliot allegedly encroached on their freedom of speech. And the man was forbidden to use the Internet for a year, and he faces up to six months in prison.

2. Iceland, 6 points

Cheap electricity, government support, and almost complete absence of crime contribute to the fact that Iceland is becoming one of the pillars of the Internet. There are a lot of data centers in this country, and as for the freedom of users, Edward Snowden himself said in an interview that he would not mind settling in Iceland.

1. Estonia, 6 points

The current leader of the freedom rating on the web in 2015 took the second place. Now, according to Freedom House, he is the freest of the free, and Estonians can not be afraid that the government will infringe on their virtual rights.

Russia is on the 52th line, lower than Ukraine( 25th place) and Belarus( 48th place)."Thanking" for this follows, in particular, the "Yarovoy package", which the rating compilers called a "draconian measure".It, among other provisions, prohibits the removal by providers of information on the facts of connection of subscribers for three years, and content( including video) for up to 6 months.

In the last place in the top 65 most free of Internet censorship states is China.