Evaluating a total of 37 countries around the world, the study found all three Western European countries included – Germany, Italy and UK – as being among the world leaders in internet freedom.
Key trends identified
Freedom House’s study “Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media" identifies key trends in internet freedom in 37 countries, based on assessments of barriers to access, limitations on content, and violations of users’ rights.
The study found that Estonia, a post-Soviet state, had the greatest degree of internet freedom among the countries examined. Twelve countries received the lowest score in the analysis, among them Belarus, Ethiopia, Iran, China, Burma.
Russia was named as a particularly vulnerable to deterioration in the coming 12 months.
Crackdowns on bloggers, increased censorship, and targeted cyberattacks often coincided with broader political turmoil, including controversial elections.
Among the 37 countries one notable contingent of states were those where the internet remains a relatively unobstructed domain of free expression when compared to a more repressive or dangerous environment for traditional media. This difference is evident from the comparison between a country’s score on Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2011 assessment and its score on the Freedom of the Press 2010 study.
Azerbaijan – criminal justice used
As Azerbaijan’s internet usage has exploded in recent years, the authorities have attempted to exercise greater control over the medium, though it remains much less restricted than print and broadcast media, which are the main sources of news for most citizens.
The first internet connections in the country were established in 1994. However, open access for all citizens was made available only in 1996. The government began implementing policies aimed at lowering prices in 2007, and the internet is now more accessible for businesses and certain segments of the population.
There have sporadically been blocks imposed on certain websites and some officials have also called for the licensing of websites, including online news outlets. The authorities have used the criminal justice system to limit online expression, and two bloggers were imprisoned in 2009; the pair was released in November 2010 following an international campaign on their behalf.
However, despite the notable increase in internet penetration, quality remains low, as most people still use slow dial-up connections. The first license for third-generation (3G) mobile telephony was issued in mid-2009 to Vodafone-Azerfon, but prices for highspeed mobile internet are still very high.
Belarus – severe restrictions imposed
While the Belarusian government has promoted the use of the internet for economic purposes, the impact of the new medium in the political sphere remains limited. The authorities impose severe restrictions on 
all news outlets, and the security services have increasingly attempted to introduce various internet surveillance technologies.
A presidential decree Nr. 60 signed in February 2010 and subsequent regulations provide a legal basis for extensive censorship and monitoring of the internet. The government’s desire to suppress the free flow of information became even more evident during, and immediately following, the December 2010 presidential election.
The authorities blocked international connections to specific ports, preventing users from securely posting content on social media sites like Facebook, and sending secure messages through Gmail. In addition, the government created fake mirror websites to divert users from accessing independent news sources, and launched distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the opposition sites.
Recent years have seen an increase in internet use and mobile-telephone penetration in Belarus. Some 27 percent of the population uses the internet and 93 percent of the population uses mobile phones. However, state-imposed and other infrastructural restrictions significantly constrain Belarusians’ ability to fully access these technologies and related applications. Internet costs in Belarus are higher than in all neighboring countries.
There is a high level of government involvement in the electronic communications sector, and there is no independent regulator, as the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology handles regulatory functions. Beltelecom maintains a monopoly on international data transfers.
Various Web 2.0 applications such as the social networking site Facebook, videosharing site YouTube, and microblogging service Twitter are slowly gaining in popularity.
A physical person’s site that is hosted on a national hosting provider, including internet resources providing free hosting, is subject to compulsory registration carried out by the ISP. Moreover, government officials have announced that submission of false registration information will bring legal repercussions.
Georgia – state bodies step up use of internet
Use of the internet and related technologies continues to grow rapidly in Georgia, as does the availability of better connections and services. Social-networking sites, particularly Facebook, have gained in popularity in recent years, reportedly eclipsing news sites and general web portals. Facebook serves as an important platform for discussion and information exchange among the more liberal segments of Georgian society.
State bodies have also been stepping up their use of the internet. For example, the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) allows citizens to register real estate through its website, and the tax inspection agency accepts online submission of tax declarations. The
Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has reportedly turned its attention toward blogging and other social media.
The internet was first introduced in Georgia at the end of 1990s, and after a boom in new services like broadband at the beginning of 2004, connections became available for almost everyone with a telephone line in Tbilisi, the capital. Internet subscriptions have also proliferated in other large cities.
Online news media are developing slowly, but a growing number of journals and newspapers are launching websites, and major newspapers and news agencies are sharing content through applications like Facebook, the Twitter microblogging service, and the video-sharing site YouTube. Nevertheless, many journalists working in traditional media lack knowledge about internet technology and web tools.
Kazakhstan – keen to modernize, afraid of internet democracy
Kazakhstan’s government has sought to make the internet a new source of economic strength and build the country into the information-technology hub of Central Asia. With that goal in mind, the government has made modest efforts to liberalize the telecommunications sector, promote internet usage, and enhance the internet portals of state entities.
At the same time, the authorities also attempt to control citizens’
access to information and apparently fear the internet’s democratizing potential. In recent years, the government has blocked a popular blog-hosting platform and passed several pieces of legislation that restrict free expression online, particularly on topics that are deemed threatening to President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s power and reputation.
The main ministries and agencies responsible for regulating information and communication technologies (ICTs) were established in 2004 and 2005. A few years later, the government initiated several programs to promote internet use, such as a plan to lower digital inequality and a scheme to expand online government functions. This trend continued in 2010, with the creation of a new Ministry of Communications and Information tasked with formulating an ICT development strategy for 2010-14.
Over the past decade, internet access has grown exponentially, from a 0.7 percent penetration rate in 2000 to 28 percent—or 4.3 million users—by the end of 2010, according to official figures. Most users access the internet from home.
In recent years, there has also been a shift from dial-up to broadband connections.
The video-sharing website YouTube and the microblogging service Twitter are also growing in popularity. However, the international blog-hosting platform LiveJournal was blocked beginning in October 2008 by the two largest internet-service providers. Access to Blogger.com was similarly restricted, with the exception of sporadic openings, for much of 2010.
Russia – internet as last relatively uncensored space in country
After the elimination of independent television channels and the tightening of press regulations in 2000–01, the internet became Russia’s last relatively 
uncensored platform for public debate and the expression of political opinions. However, even as access conditions have improved, internet freedom has corroded.
In the last two years there have been several cases of technical blocking and numerous cases of content removal. The authorities have also increasingly engaged in harassment of bloggers. At least 25 cases of blogger harassment, including 11 arrests, were registered between January 2009 and May 2010, compared with seven in 2006–08. In addition, dozens of blogs have reportedly been attacked in recent years by a hacker team called the Hell Brigade.
Since the internet was first launched in Russia in 1988, the country has made significant gains in the expansion of its information infrastructure. Most Russians access the internet from their homes (94 percent of users) and workplaces (48 percent), and use of cybercafes has consequently dropped off.
Internet access via mobile telephones and similar devices has gained popularity since 2006, and 9.4 million people report using this method. Faster and more credible than conventional media, online outlets are becoming the main information source for a growing number of Russians, and certain websites have larger audiences than television channels.
Eastern Afrca
Freedomhouse has analysed only two African countries – neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya. The differen
ce between the two countries is quite significant. Internet penetration in Ethiopia is only 0,5 percent, in Kenya – 10 percent. Internet in Ethiopia is evaluated as not free, in Kenya partly free.
Ethiopia – digital media not widespread, filtering system instituted
Although Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most populous countries, poor infrastructure and a government monopoly on telecommunications have significantly hindered the expansion of digital media. As a result, Ethiopia has one of the lowest rates of internet and mobiletelephone penetration on the continent. Nevertheless, dissidents both inside the country and in the diaspora have increasingly used the internet as a platform for political discussion and criticism of the regime.
The government has responded by instituting one of the few nationwide filtering systems in Africa, passing laws to restrict free expression, and attempting to manipulate online media. These efforts have coincided with a broader increase in repression against independent print and broadcast media since the 2005 parliamentary elections, in which opposition parties mustered a relatively strong showing.
The crackdown gained new momentum ahead of the next elections in May 2010, though these were significantly less competitive. The ruling party and its p
artners obtained 544 of the 547 parliamentary seats and all but four of the 1,904 seats in regional councils, amid allegations of fraud and intimidation of opposition supporters.
Internet and mobile-phone services were introduced in Ethiopia in 1997 and 1999, respectively. In recent years, the government has attempted to increase access through the establishment of fiber-optic cables, satellite links, and mobile broadband services. It has refused to end exclusive control over the market by the state-owned telecommunications firm, the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC).
However, in December 2010 France Telecom took over management of ETC for a two-year period, renaming it Ethio Telecom in the process. China has also emerged as a key investor and contractor in Ethiopia’s telecommunications sector. Given allegations that the Chinese authorities have provided the Ethiopian government with technologies that can be used for political repression, such as surveillance cameras and satellite jamming equipment, some observers fear that the Chinese may assist the authorities in developing more robust internet and mobile-phone censorship and surveillance capacities in the coming years.
Kenya – internet relatively unfettered
Use of the internet and mobile telephones is relatively unfettered in Kenya, and access to the technology continues to grow. Although a lack of infrastructure and high costs still hamper connectivity for
many Kenyans, the installation of two undersea cables in 2009 has dramatically improved bandwidth, and prices are starting to come down.
Since 2008, there have been no confirmed incidents of government filtering or interference with online communication. However, in January 2009, the government passed a controversial Communications Amendment Act despite warnings from civil society groups that it could hinder free expression.
The internet was first made available in Kenya in 1993, and the first commercial internet-service provider (ISP) began operating in 1995. Mobile phones were introduced in 1992, but only became widely available and affordable after the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) was established and two service providers—Safaricom and Kencell—were licensed in 1999.
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