Report: Internet Saw ‘Rise of Digital Authoritarianism’ in 2018

CYBERSPACE—China was the most severe violator of internet freedom in the 12 months from June 2017 to May 2018, according a new report by the nonprofit pro-democracy group Freedom House, which surveyed 65 countries and found that 26, or 40 percent, experienced crackdowns on digital freedoms, as PC Magazine reported. But even with the declines in internet freedom suffered in countries including Egypt, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and Venezuela, the Freedom House report—titled The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism—found that with its internet Great Firewall model of digital control, “China reached new extremes in 2018 with the implementation of the sweeping Cybersecurity Law and upgrades to surveillance technology.” But internet freedom also declined in the United States, according to Freedom House, thanks in large part to the Federal Communications Commission vote to repeal net neutrality rules, a repeal which went into effect in June of 2018, after the period covered by the report, and on which AVN.com has reported extensively. The U.S. Congress also reauthorized the FISA Amendments Act, including the controversial Section 702 which allows the government to listen in on the digital communications of foreigners—but not Americans—outside of the United States without obtaining a warrant, as CNN explained. But under Section 702, communications of Americans may be swept up in the process of spying on foreigners. By reauthorizing the law, Congress, Freedom House said, is “missing an opportunity to reform surveillance powers that allow the government to conduct broad sweeps in search of non-US targets and routinely collect the personal communications of Americans in the process.” The overall quality of information online in the U.S. was also of concern to the researchers. “Despite an online environment that remains vibrant, diverse, and free, disinformation and hyperpartisan content continued to be of pressing concern in the United States, particularly in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections,” the report said. In many other countries, crackdowns on internet freedom followed directly after authoritarian-style leaders rose to power.  On the optimistic side, 19 countries saw positive developments on the digital front, with at least some increases in online freedoms recorded by Freedom House. In Gambia, for example, internet freedoms increased after the departure of dictator Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled the African country for more than two decades, in 2017. But many of the “draconian laws” instituted under Jammeh’s regime remained in place, causing the country’s internet to receive a score of “Partly Free.” But that was an improvement over the previous grade of “Not Free.” Though the report cited “disinformation and hyperpartisan content” online as a threat to internet freedom, the report also noted that authoritarian regimes regularly use charges of “fake news” to justify crackdowns on internet freedom. Earlier this week, as AVN.com reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin enacted a broad internet censorship law aimed at, the Russian government said, stopping the spread of so-called “fake news.” Photo By Government of UAE / Wikimedia Commons Public Domain