Internet Freedom Declines In United States, Germany
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Internet freedom declined in both the United States and Germany as Western democracies joined authoritarian states in imposing growing restrictions online, an annual survey by Freedom House said Thursday.
“We find worsening repression in authoritarian and authoritarian-leaning states, largely because governments in those countries see restrictions on the internet and online expression as a means of maintaining power,” said Kian Vesteinsson, the report’s co-author.
“Much more specific to 2025, we’ve seen conditions in democracies declining,” he told AFP.
“Unfortunately, we see across North America and Western Europe generally a trend towards closing civic space in some countries, and in others deepening restrictions on people posting hateful or problematic content,” he said.
The report pointed in part to the detention by President Donald Trump’s administration of a number of non-US citizens over their online expression.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed to deport people over statements on Israel, decisions challenged in courts.
Germany also saw a decline of three points to 74. Freedom House said that Germany was seeing growing self-censorship and also the zealous enforcement of laws that prohibit hate speech and defamation.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised the free speech record of Germany, which says its Nazi past makes it critical to impose safeguards.
Two countries were downgraded — Serbia was classified as “partly free” instead of “free” and Nicaragua was marked as “not free” instead of “partially free.”
Bangladesh saw the biggest gain, as a new government formed after a student revolt loosened restrictions in the country.
Freedom House, founded during World War II to promote democracy, was historically funded largely by the US government but operated independently.
Trump, on returning to office, slashed funding to rights groups, including Freedom House, which has laid off staff.
AFP
