Myanmar and China have world’s ‘worst environment’ for internet freedom

Freedom on the Net report says Kyrgyzstan showed sharpest downgrade, while Iceland had ‘freest online environment’.

Global internet freedom has declined for the 14th year in a row, with Myanmar and China tied for the world’s worst record, a new study says.

Freedom House, a pro-democracy research group based in the United States, also said in its study on Wednesday that Kyrgyzstan showed the biggest drop in 2024 as President Sadyr Japarov clamped down on online organising and the government moved to silence digital media.

The Kyrgyz authorities shuttered the investigative media website, Kloop, which had reported on allegations by an opposition leader of torture in custody.

The Freedom on the Net (FOTN) report said protections for human rights online diminished in 27 of the 72 countries it covered.

Myanmar became the first country in a decade to match China for a low internet freedom score, the report found. The military government in the Southeast Asian country has cracked down on dissent, imposing systematic censorship and surveillance of online speech.

The report highlighted new measures by the government in May to block access to virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass internet controls.

China’s low score for internet freedom is rooted in its “great firewall“, which attempts to isolate the country from the rest of the world and block content that poses a threat to the ruling Communist Party.

Asked about the report, China said its people “enjoy various rights and freedoms in accordance with the law”.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said: “As for the so-called report, I think it is entirely baseless and made with ulterior motives.”

Other countries that were downgraded include Azerbaijan – the host of