14 DAY TRIAL // Chances are that you’re taking your online freedom for granted, without giving a second thought to the rest of the world and how others may be facing completely different situations.
Well, a new infographic (click on the image on the left to see the full version) from CWCS helps put things into perspective, allowing everyone to see just how important Internet privacy is.
For instance, while areas in the European Union, the Americas and Australia appear to have a lot of Internet freedom, countries such as China and Russia are at the exact opposite. According to the file, 34 out of the 60 countries surveyed have less Internet freedom now than they had last year.
Furthermore, in 35 out of 60 nations, the government has taken additional measures to increase digital surveillance. For instance, users in Iran who go to Internet cafes, lose their privacy entirely – their names, ID number, postcode and telephone number are kept for six months, while the record also includes the date and time of using the Internet, the IP address and a list of all visited websites.
Freedom of speech is threatened in 28 of these 60 nations, with at least one Internet user being arrested or sent to prison for posting political, social or religious content. In another 26 countries, bloggers or Internet users were attacked, beaten or tortured for what they posted online.
In five countries, one activist or citizen journalist was killed in retribution for what they posted online. One example is blogger Sattar Beheshti, who was found dead in police custody after he was arrested for criticizing the government online.
Online reporters are most often those whose freedom of speech is generally targeted by oppressive governments as they seek to put a stop to the free flow of information that’s frequently associated with the Internet.
Countless times, users have been persecuted for simply expressing their opinions.
