Risk to online freedom

Govts are tightening internet rules

The annual “Freedom on the Net” study is disturbing as it claims free expression has declined for the 11th year in succession. The study done by Freedom House covers 70 countries with over 88 per cent of the world’s users. The report claims online freedom is under unprecedented strain. At least 56 of the surveyed countries have seen arrests for online speech in 2020-21. In addition, 38 countries have initiated legal changes designed to give governments more access to user-data, often using the rationale of data sovereignty to insist data be stored in local servers. Governments continue to tighten their