Global Rankings of the Level of Internet and Digital Media Freedom

Freedom on the Net measures the level of internet and digital media freedom in 65 countries (for a full display of countries, please view the chart in full screen). Each country receives a numerical score from 100 (the most free) to 0 (the least free), which serves as the basis for an internet freedom status designation of free (70–100 points), partly free (40–69 points) or not free (0–39 points). Ratings are determined through an examination of three broad categories: obstacles to access (assesses infrastructural and economic barriers to access; government efforts to block specific applications or technologies; and legal, regulatory, and ownership control over internet and mobile phone access providers); limits on content (examines filtering and blocking of websites; other forms of censorship and self-censorship; manipulation of content; the diversity of online news media; and usage of digital media for social and political activism); violations of user rights (measures legal protections and restrictions on online activity; surveillance; privacy; and repercussions for online activity, such as legal prosecution, imprisonment, physical attacks, or other forms of harassment).