Some countries are a great deal more free than others when it comes to internet censorship and surveillance. Cloudwards.net dove into the wacky world of repression and rated 149 countries according to how free and unfree they are, with some surprising results. Global Score Countries 6 (4.03 %) 47 (31.54 %) 71 (47.65 %) 18 (12.08 %) 4 (2.68 %) 3 (2.01 %) See how many people are affected Global Score People 129.6 million (1.76 %) 553.5 million (7.52 %) 4.3 billion (58.58 %) 593.6 million (8.06 %) 242.4 million (3.29 %) 1.5 billion (20.79 %) Countries You may see the internet as the largest source of free knowledge available, and in some ways, you’d be right. The internet you’re surfing, though, is most likely partially censored at the least. Plus, invasive surveillance exists, and there can be consequences for speaking your mind. This article is aimed at educating you on online restrictions and internet censorship around the world.



Global Score : Change Score Surveillance Network Access Inequality Freedom of Speech Restrictions Social Media Restrictions VPN Bans Torrenting Restrictions Simple World Map Author: Al MacDonald Editor: Fritz Lekschas License: CC BY-SA 3.0 ID: ISO 3166-1 or "_[a-zA-Z]" if an ISO code is not available



The amount of constraints and monitoring in place is astonishing and relevant to most countries. Internet service providers control what you can or can’t see and governments make them block content, often with consequences if they don’t cooperate. In countries with a centralized internet system, the government can even shut down the internet altogether. We’ve put together detailed, country by country information, explaining the restrictions imposed and how bad they are. We considered certain criteria, such as online surveillance and network access inequality, as well as limits on freedom of speech, social media, the use of virtual private networks and torrenting. We recommend navigating using the map, though you can also browse the entire article. The countries are listed per continent, and in alphabetical order. Important Editor’s Note We’ve done our best to dive into the depths of the internet and bring you accurate information on all of the countries and subjects below. Please remember, though, that this type of information can become inaccurate very quickly. Also, often enough there is no information to be found, or at least in English, so we’re missing a few countries in our overview. We endeavor to keep the information correct, but Cloudwards.net is not liable for false or inaccurate information within this article. Please use the information as a general reference, you should not rely on it for legal purposes. Also, if you spot a mistake or something that has changed, email the chief editor at fergus[at]cloudwards.net so we can update it ASAP. The Criteria You can’t put together a list as massive as this without setting a few criteria. Below we’ll explain how and why we judged each country on the list. Surveillance Yes in 109 countries 😢 No in 40 countries 😀 See how many people are affected Yes and it affects 6.8 billion people 😢 569.5 million people are not affected 😀 Countries Online surveillance is rife, but many people are oblivious to it or don’t care. All sorts of online services can be monitored without you realizing, including social media, blogs and browsing history. Online communications, such as emails, calls and messaging, can also be under watch, and sensitive user data is often collected and stored. There’s evidence that governments and authorities around the world have spent millions on surveillance software, such as FinFisher which enables governments to monitor devices, track locations and intercept data, even if it is encrypted. Other evidence points to dealings with companies who provide the software, such as Hacking Team. The most famous revelations were those of whistleblower Edward Snowden, which unearthed the many snooping activities of the U.S. government. Plus, there are countries that have formed intelligence relationships, known as the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and Fourteen Eyes. The agreements between the nations govern data collection and the sharing of intelligence data with one another. Invasive technology is used for mass surveillance online and offline, so take note if a country is involved. Network Access Inequality Yes in 17 countries 😢 No in 132 countries 😀 See how many people are affected Yes and it affects 2.3 billion people 😢 5.1 billion people are not affected 😀 Countries Network access inequality is the opposite of net neutrality, the principle that ISPs treat all services and websites equally. Many countries don’t support net neutrality, which leads to discrimination and unfair charges to some content providers and services. ISPs can slow down or block apps, webpages and services, so doing whatever you want online is a thing of the past. Countries that don’t have net neutrality are great for ISPs because they can profit from making consumers subscribe to special plans to get unthrottled access to the websites and online services they want. Also, it can lead to ISPs “hiding” sites they don’t like by putting them behind a paywall. Net Neutrality in EU Countries In 2016, the EU applied Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, enshrining the principle of net neutrality into EU law. Internet traffic has to be treated equally, with no throttling or blocking on or discrimination toward content, applications or services by ISPs in EU countries. Freedom of Speech Restrictions Yes in 119 countries 😢 No in 30 countries 😀 See how many people are affected Yes and it affects 6.5 billion people 😢 871.4 million people are not affected 😀 Countries Freedom of speech is the right to express your opinion without censorship, restraint or punishment, and it’s dying, quicker in some places than others. In some places there’s valid reasoning behind the restrictions, such as the government has a duty to prohibit hate speech, especially toward racial and religious groups. That said, the rules can be abused. Laws make it look like freedom of speech is protected, but there are often other laws that contradict them. User posts get removed and people end up in prison for seemingly innocent comments. Journalists often practice self-censorship for fear of punishment, but it can affect normal citizens, too. Social Media Restrictions Yes in 11 countries 😢 No in 138 countries 😀 See how many people are affected Yes and it affects 1.9 billion people 😢 5.4 billion people are not affected 😀 Countries You may be used to flicking through recent posts and comments on social media apps, but many of them are banned in some countries. Reasons vary from keeping inappropriate material out of reach to trying to stop protests and other public demonstrations from being organized. Messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Viber, are often blocked, too, for the same reasons. Digital activists and terror groups are known to use the applications to communicate with members in secret. Plus, access can be blocked ahead of elections to limit fake news and hate speech that may influence the voting. VPN Bans Yes in 17 countries 😢 No in 132 countries 😀 See how many people are affected Yes and it affects 2 billion people 😢 5.3 billion people are not affected 😀 Countries In an attempt to take control, many countries have blocked or banned VPNs. There are different ways to do that, such as blocking access to IP addresses from other countries, blocking the VPN servers by identifying the VPN protocols or blocking the ports that are used by those protocols. Some countries simply block access to a specific VPN service. There are countries that don’t have the technology required to carry out blocks, so they have legislation that only allows the use of a VPN service that’s registered with the government or makes the use of VPNs illegal. Several authorities carry out spot checks on mobile devices to see if you have one installed, and there can be severe punishments if you’re caught with one. Torrenting Restrictions Yes in 71 countries 😢 No in 78 countries 😀 See how many people are affected Yes and it affects 5.9 billion people 😢 1.4 billion people are not affected 😀 Countries Torrenting on its own isn’t illegal. It’s just a way to share content online. Downloading copyrighted material through them is illegal, though, because you’re basically stealing. The consequences if you get caught doing that vary. You could be slapped with a hefty fine or be given a prison sentence. It largely depends on the country dealing with the crime. To try to combat the offense, torrenting websites are blocked in many countries. In other cases, the websites have stayed active but are monitored with the hope of catching people and turning them in. Being able to torrent isn’t a human right, so we won’t include it in our ranking, but it will still be kept in mind. Read our best VPN for torrenting piece for some dedicated recommendations. Remember, just because the laws and restrictions may not pertain to the country in which you reside, that doesn’t mean you should ignore them. If you travel, you’re bound by those regulations, and many tourists have found themselves in hairy situations. Read on to educate yourself about the rules of a country you plan to visit, including the online world.