Governments around the world have stepped up efforts to block or censor social media and messaging applications, in a new blow to internet freedom, a watchdog group has said.

The Freedom on the Net report by the activist group Freedom House said online freedom declined in 2016 for a sixth consecutive year, amid new restrictions on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and social networks.

A staggering two-thirds of all internet users live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship, the report found.

Two-thirds of all internet users live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship, the new report found. A map showing the worst offenders (dark red) and the least (pale pink) is shown. Grey countries were not assessed

THE REPORT IN BRIEF Internet freedom around the world declined in 2016 for the sixth consecutive year. Two-thirds of all internet users, 67 per cent, live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship. Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year. Globally, 27 per cent of all internet users live in countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely 'liking' content on Facebook. Governments are increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which can spread information quickly and securely. Advertisement

The US was ranked fourth and the UK eighth in the overall comparison of how 'free' the internet is 65 different countries, while Estonia took the number one spot.

'Popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have been subject to growing censorship for several years, but governments are now increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram,' said Sanja Kelly, director of the study.

Messaging apps have become increasingly popular tools for activists, and many of them can offer encrypted communications which make it more difficult for the users to be monitored, the report noted.

'The key reason for the block of these apps is preventing users from disseminating news during periods of unrest,' Kelly said.

The report said 34 of the 65 countries assessed in the report have seen internet freedom deteriorate since June 2015.

Some of the notable declines were in Uganda, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador and Libya, while online freedom improved in Sri Lanka and Zambia and in the United States, due to the passage of a law limiting collection of telecommunications metadata.

Governments in 24 countries limited or blocked access to social media and communication tools, up from 15 in the previous year.

Even some democratic governments have been targeting applications that use encryption features seen as a threat to national security, like WhatsApp.

The report said 34 of the 65 countries assessed in the report have seen internet freedom deteriorate since June 2015. Green countries are free, yellow are partly free and blue are not free

CHINA'S 'DRACONIAN' CYBERSECURITY LAW Last week China passed a controversial cybersecurity bill, tightening restrictions on online freedom of speech. The bill also imposes new rules on online service providers, raising concerns it is further cloistering its heavily controlled internet. The legislation, passed by China's largely rubber-stamp parliament and set to take effect in June 2017, is an 'objective need' of China as a major internet power, a parliament official said. The law is largely focused on protecting the country's networks and private user information. But it also bans internet users from publishing a wide variety of information, including anything that damages 'national honour', 'disturbs economic or social order' or is aimed at 'overthrowing the socialist system'. A provision requiring companies to verify a user's identity effectively makes it illegal to go online anonymously. Companies providing online services in the country must provide 'technical support and help' to public security organs investigating 'crimes', which would normally include those related to speech. Advertisement

WhatsApp, which uses end-to-end encryption on its messages and calls, faced restrictions in 12 of the 65 countries analysed, more than any other app.

'Although the blocking of these tools affects everyone, it has an especially harmful impact on human rights defenders, journalists, and marginalized communities who often depend on these apps to bypass government surveillance,' said Kelly.

China was the world's worst offender for a second year, according to the report, followed by Syria and Iran.

Freedom House criticized a new Chinese law that allows for seven-year prison terms for spreading rumors on social media, a charge often used to imprison political activists.

It said some users in China belonging to minority religious groups were imprisoned for watching religious videos on mobile phones.

The report said authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year, an increase of more than 50 per cent since 2013.

Prison sentences imposed in some countries exceeded ten years. Some have been jailed for merely sharing or 'liking' content on Facebook.

'When authorities sentence users to long prison terms for simply criticizing government policies online, almost everyone becomes much more reluctant to post anything that could get them in similar trouble,' Kelly said.

Globally, 27 per cent of all internet users live in countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely 'liking' content on Facebook. Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on posts

At least 15 countries temporarily shut down internet or mobile networks as another way of limiting online activism, the report said.

Some governments broadened the range of censorship to include images, caricatures and even emojis deemed offensive by regimes, Freedom House said.

In Egypt, for example, a student who posted a photo depicting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with Mickey Mouse ears got a three-year prison term.

'When faced with humorous memes and cartoons of themselves, some world leaders are thin-skinned and lash out,' said Kelly.