11/06/2018

PAKISTAN'S FREEDOM HOUSE INTERNET


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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