According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, based on data from Freedom House, only 17% of Internet users have access to a truly free Internet. Generally, conditions online for human rights have deteriorated for the 13th year, with the highest declines occurring in Iran, followed by the Philippines, Belarus, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Internet users in China face the most severe content limitation and government censorship for the ninth year in a row. In contrast, Icelandic users enjoy the most online liberty worldwide for the fifth consecutive year.
As per the findings, 36% of Internet users worldwide do not have access to Internet freedom, characterised by high infrastructural, economic and political obstacles to access; limits on content, including the filtering and blocking of websites; as well as violations on the right to freedom of expression using legal and extralegal repercussions.
Elsewhere, the Internet is partially free to 35% of its users. Countries such as Hungary and Colombia are good examples of this category. Both boast open Internet access but also face threats, such as cyberattacks on media outlets or policies that impede the operations of opposition groups, journalists and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).
Meanwhile, only 17% of the global Internet population enjoys the Internet without significant restrictions. Researchers observed little-to-no critical Internet controls exerted in Costa Rica, Germany, Estonia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, the United States and Taiwan, to name a few.