{"id":112,"date":"2016-11-16T08:28:44","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T08:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kitaw.info\/en\/?p=112"},"modified":"2018-06-27T09:07:07","modified_gmt":"2018-06-27T09:07:07","slug":"my-comments-on-the-freedom-on-the-net-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kitaw.info\/en\/2016\/11\/16\/my-comments-on-the-freedom-on-the-net-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"My comments on the Freedom on the Net 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>The annual survey and analysis of internet and digital media freedom around the world &#8216;Freedom on the Net 2016&#8217; reveals yet another\u00a0decline of Internet freedom around the world.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Using a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/report\/freedom-net-methodology\">methodology<\/a>\u00a0that includes several\u00a0ITU figures\u00a0(in particular for the index on &#8216;Obstacles to Access&#8217; assessing to what extent infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet), the report entitled &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/report\/freedom-net\/freedom-net-2016\">Silencing the Messenger: Communication Apps Under Pressure<\/a>&#8216; concludes with the following key findings:<\/div>\n<div>\u200b<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Internet freedom around the world declined in 2016 for the sixth consecutive year.\u200b<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two-thirds of all internet users \u2013 67 percent \u2013 live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made arrests based on social media posts over the past year. Globally, 27 percent of all internet users live in countries where people have been arrested for publishing, sharing, or merely \u201cliking\u201d content on Facebook.<\/li>\n<li>Governments are increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which can spread information quickly and securely.\u200b<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u200b\u200b\u200bInterestingly, the report displays a\u00a0chart showing Internet Freedom vs Internet Penetration and GDP without providing any \u200bcomment.<\/p>\n<p>The chart\u00a0triggers\u00a0a variety of questions ranging from the linkages\u200b between\u00a0Internet Freedom and GDP\u00a0up\u00a0to\u00a0the correlations between ICT growth, development and democracy.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the Internet presents the &#8216;Dictator&#8217;s dilemma&#8217; for authoritarian regimes.<\/p>\n<p>On one hand, shutting it down can hurt their economy. On the other, leaving it open and unrestricted can threaten their power grip as it\u00a0facilitates\u00a0their citizens&#8217; ability\u00a0to\u00a0access and share political\u00a0information and engage collectively.<\/p>\n<p>Most often respond to this dilemma through sophisticated and opaque ways, taking advantage of the tool,\u00a0 by for example promoting e-government as a means to strengthen their authoritarian rule while tightening control and surveillance. (see figure from the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/publication\/wdr2016\">World Development Report 2016 &#8211; Digital Dividends\u200b<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/kitaw.info\/personal\/kitaw\/Blog\/SiteAssets\/WB%20WDR%202016.JPG\" alt=\"WB WDR 2016.JPG\" \/><\/div>\n<div>Source: World Development Report 2016<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>While there is abundant ICT4D literature on the linkages between\u00a0Information Technologies and International Development in general, much more remains to be explored on the correlation\/causal linkages between ICT penetration, Development and Democratization at a global level as well as\u00a0specific case studies including\u00a0cultural and historical insights.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The annual survey and analysis of internet and digital media freedom around the world &#8216;Freedom on the Net 2016&#8217; reveals yet another\u00a0decline of Internet freedom around the world. Using a\u00a0methodology\u00a0that includes several\u00a0ITU figures\u00a0(in particular for the index on &#8216;Obstacles to Access&#8217; assessing to what extent infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet), the report entitled &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kitaw.info\/en\/2016\/11\/16\/my-comments-on-the-freedom-on-the-net-2016\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;My comments on the Freedom on the Net 2016&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>My comments on the Freedom on the Net 2016 - Kitaw Yayehyirad KITAW<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kitaw.info\/en\/2016\/11\/16\/my-comments-on-the-freedom-on-the-net-2016\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My comments on the Freedom on the Net 2016 - Kitaw Yayehyirad KITAW\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The annual survey and analysis of internet and digital media freedom around the world &#8216;Freedom on the Net 2016&#8217; reveals yet another\u00a0decline of Internet freedom around the world. 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