The Freedom House  have released their 2017 Freedom on the Net report, one of the most comprehensive assessments of countries’ performance regarding online freedoms.

Online content manipulation contributed to a seventh consecutive year of overall decline in internet freedom, along with a rise in disruptions to mobile internet service and increases in physical and technical attacks on human rights defenders and independent media.

Nearly half of the 65 countries assessed in Freedom on the Net 2017 experienced declines during the coverage period, while just 13 made gains, most of them minor. Less than one-quarter of users reside in countries where the internet is designated Free, meaning there are no major obstacles to access, onerous restrictions on content, or serious violations of user rights in the form of unchecked surveillance or unjust repercussions for legitimate speech.

The Key Findings of the Report are

• Online manipulation and disinformation tactics played an important role in elections in at least 18 countries over the past year, including the United States.
• Disinformation tactics contributed to a seventh consecutive year of overall decline in internet freedom, as did a rise in disruptions to mobile internet service and increases in physical and technical attacks on human rights defenders and independent media.
• An record number of governments have restricted mobile internet service for political or security reasons, often in areas populated by ethnic or religious minorities.
• For the third consecutive year, China was the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom, followed by Syria and Ethiopia.

Link to the Report: Freedom of the Net 2017