Freedom House, a US-based NGO monitoring the progress or restriction of human freedoms as it perceives them around the globe, has published its most recent Freedom on the Net 2015 report, the sixth in its series. This edition assesses Internet and digital media in 65 countries in 2014.
In its findings, the NGO assigns Russia the “not free” status, downgrading the country from the “partly free” and “relatively uncensored” statuses of the previous years. Russia now scores 62, compared to 60 one year ago and 52 three years ago. The scale runs from 0, or complete freedom, to 100, or total government oppression.
“Internet freedom in Russia has deteriorated steadily over the past few years,” the American NGO asserts, “with a steeper decline from 2013 to 2014 following the Euromaidan protests in neighboring Ukraine and Russia’s subsequent annexation of Crimea. During this time, blocking of online content expanded significantly, and the government enacted a series of restrictive laws.”
“Since mid-2014, the authorities have continued to constrict the environment for freedom of expression and information online by blocking or economically targeting critical media outlets, increasing criminal penalties for online activities, and prosecuting or arresting internet users for their posts,” Freedom House adds.
Here are the most significant milestones on Russia’s road to stronger state control over the Internet, according to the US watchdog:
- Since early 2014, the government has continuously censored content related to the conflict in Ukraine and antigovernment protests, and threatened to block entire platforms due to the increasing difficulty of blocking individual pages.
- Laws passed in May and July 2014 required the registration of bloggers and the storing of all Russians’ data on servers located within Russia. Many are concerned that data-localization rules could make it easier for the Russian government to access internet users’ information, infringing on their right to privacy.
- In June 2014, the president signed new amendments to the criminal code that increased penalties for disseminating materials online related to “extremism,” setting prison terms of up to five years, as well as increasing penalties for “inciting hatred” to terms of up to six years. Other amendments criminalized the financing of extremist activity — a vague phrase that has been applied to the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and independent media outlets.
- In May 2015 a new law on “undesirable organizations” included bans on disseminating information from the blacklisted groups.
- Meanwhile, the authorities continue to expand their capacity for surveillance of communications by requiring all internet and mobile service providers to upgrade to SORM-3 technology, which provides intelligence agencies with greater access to the content of communications through deep packet inspection (DPI).
Please click here to download Freedom House’s Russia report.
Internet freedom across the globe in 2014
Source: Freedom House, 2015 report
