The Freedom House has declared Pakistan ''Not Free'' in terms of Internet use for the seventh consecutive year in its global report released on Thursday.
The report showed that the country's ranking had been worsening over the years.
The watchdog primarily focused on developments that occurred between June last year and May this year. It found that Internet Freedom was declining around the world and democracy was withering under the onslaught.
Out of the 65 countries assessed in Freedom on the Net,........ 26 experienced deterioration in terms of Internet freedom and almost half of all declines were related to elections.
The Pakistan report has been authored by Digital Rights Foundation, a research-based advocacy non-governmental organisation which works on online free speech, privacy, data protection and online violence against women.
The report placed Pakistan at 73, out of 100 [100 being the worst], in Internet Freedom Status index for this year - two places were worse than last year's rankings.
With a ranking of 19, out of 25, for Obstacles to Access index for 2017, the bar sits at 20 for 2018.
Violations of Users Rights index, which placed this country at 32 out of 40 last year, put it at 33 for the current year.
It observed that internet freedom was marked by a continuity of trends that were set in motion last year and had declined in some aspects following some dramatic incidents of intimidation and violence related to online activities.
Internet shutdown, a problematic cybercrime law, and cyber attacks against political dissenters contributed to the ongoing deterioration.
Political speech was vulnerable to restriction as the country entered the election year, the report noted, adding that in the lead up to the vote, bots supporting political parties surfaced online, including many spewing disinformation.
The honor and serving of the latest operational research on Internet and Freedom and state of the world continues.
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