Iraq is the fourth in the world in violating “Internet freedom” during 2024

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[size=52]Iraq is the fourth in the world in violating “Internet freedom” during 2024[/size]

[size=45]An annual report issued today, Wednesday, by the American non-governmental organization “Freedom House” indicated a decline in “Internet freedom” at the global level for the 14th consecutive year.[/size]
[size=45]The organization's report included 72 countries, representing about 87% of the world's internet users, noting that governments in 25 of these countries blocked websites, restricted access to social media platforms, or cut off internet access entirely.[/size]
[size=45]The report, which covered the period from June 2023 to May 2024, noted that governments used pro-government comments to spread misinformation about democratic processes.[/size]
[size=45]According to the report, the largest decline in internet freedom occurred in Kyrgyzstan, followed by Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iraq, and Zimbabwe, while Zambia, on the other hand, made the largest improvement as it opened up space for online activity.[/size]
[size=45]In more than three-quarters of the countries covered by the report, people faced arrest for expressing their political, social or religious views online, while others were killed or subjected to physical violence linked to their online activities in at least 43 countries, a record number.[/size]
[size=45]The report confirmed that governments in at least 41 countries blocked websites that hosted political, social and religious speeches, and in at least 25 countries, governments restricted access to social media and communication platforms entirely.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding Iraq, the report warned that journalists, activists and bloggers are routinely subjected to violence, kidnappings and even assassinations as a result of their online publications.[/size]
[size=45]The report cited the killing of a prominent civil society activist in October 2023 by an unknown assailant after his Facebook posts encouraged Iraqis to participate in the protests.[/size]
[size=45]The countries included in the report were classified into three categories in terms of Internet freedom: “free,” “partly free,” and “not free.” No Arab countries were included in the list of free countries, but Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Iraq, and Libya were among the countries classified as “partly free,” while Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, and Sudan were classified as “not free” countries in the field of Internet freedom for the year 2024.[/size]
[size=45]More than 95 analysts and consultants contributed to the Freedom House report, a democracy-promoting organization that uses standardized criteria to measure each country’s degree of internet freedom. These criteria include 21 indicators related to barriers to internet access, content restrictions, and violations of user rights.[/size]
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