Crisis of social media and decline in Internet freedom
The introduction to the 2019 Freedom on the Net report: The Crisis of Social Media says ‘Repressive regimes, elected incumbents with authoritarian ambitions, and unscrupulous partisan operatives have exploited the unregulated spaces of social media platforms, converting them into instruments for political distortion and societal control’, and reports that global Internet freedom has declined for the ninth year in a row. The report notes the 2018 marked the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedoms. Examining 65 countries between June 2018 and May 2019, China was found to be the worst abuser for the fourth time in a row, close to Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia, while Iceland came in first (freest).
In spite of negative news, changes in leadership and incremental changes in society show a more optimistic trend:
About author
DW Team
The GIP Digital Watch Observatory team, consisting of over 30 digital policy experts from around the world, excels in the fields of research and analysis on digital policy issues. The team is backed by the creative prowess of Creative Lab Diplo and the technical expertise of the Diplo tech team.