Challenges in Accessing Electronic Media

Most Americans take for granted access to information and communications through the Internet and cellular phones. This free access is not found in many other countries.

Freedom House, a U.S.-based research institute for the study of democracy, political freedom, and human rights, has a project called Freedom on the Net that measures the level of Internet and digital media freedom in 65 countries. Excluded are countries with limited Internet connectivity (mostly in Africa) and countries with connectivity but insufficient evidence (mostly in Europe). Each of the 65 countries receives a numerical score from 0 (the most free) to 100 (the least free). Countries are classified “free” with a score of 30 or below, “partly free” with a score between 31 and 60, and “not free” with a score above 60.

Only 19 of the 65 countries included in Freedom on the Net were classified as “free,” 31 were “partly free,” and 15 were “not free”. Freedom on the Net identifies three categories of restrictions on the free use of the Internet: Banned technology, blocked content, and violated user rights.

Internet Freedom

Freedom House determines the degree to which countries restrict Internet freedom based on a combination of inability to use technology, lack of access to electronic sites, and extent of violation of personal rights.

Banned Technology

In countries lacking complete Internet freedom, some models of phones, tablets, and computers may not be sold. Devices that are sold must be configured to exclude certain applications and technologies.

During the first half of the twentieth century, governments tried to jam foreign radio stations, especially those of enemy combatants during wartime. But this proved difficult at night, when radio waves carry further. During the Cold War, Communist countries in Eastern Europe blocked TV signals from stations in Western Europe. Because over-the-air TV signals do not travel far, this proved easier for Communist governments than blocking radio signals. Ultimately, satellite technology enabled consumers to outwit government controls. The small size of satellite dishes made them easy to smuggle into a country and to be erected out of sight.

Now, however, governments can effectively prevent unwanted electronic technology by regulating the most commonly used technology platforms that are supported by the infrastructure in the country. Even some travelers between free countries, such as from the United States to Western European countries, find that their electronic devices do not always operate because of incompatible cellular infrastructure.

China is especially aggressive at restricting foreign applications. The small number of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram users in China, is evidence of those restrictions. Instead, electronic interaction in China is undertaken primarily through homegrown apps, such as WeChat, Weibo, and QQ

China Internet

Blocked Content

Some websites are censored or prevented from being seen altogether on devices in a particular country. As with technology, blocking Internet content is a continuation of widespread practice relating to TV.

Three developed countries—Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—have dominated TV in developing countries, including supplying much of the programming. Leaders of many developing countries view American control of much of the world’s TV programming as a new method of economic and cultural imperialism. American TV programs present characteristically American beliefs and social forms, such as upward social mobility, relative freedom for women, glorification of youth, and stylized violence. These attractive themes may conflict with and drive out traditional folk culture.

To show sensitivity to traditional folk culture, many satellite and cable providers in developing countries block offending networks such as MTV and censor unacceptable programs. The entertainment programs that are substituted may emphasize local values and avoid controversial or edgy cultural, economic, and political content.

In the twenty-first century, concern with American-produced media content has spilled over into the Internet. OpenNetInitiative has identified three types of Internet content that are routinely censored in other countries.

• Political content that expresses views in opposition to those of the current government or that is related to human rights, freedom of expression, minority rights, and religious movements.

• Social content related to sexuality, gambling, and illegal drugs and alcohol, as well as other topics that may be socially sensitive or perceived as offensive.

• Security content related to armed conflicts, border disputes, separatist movements, and militant groups.

Social Media and Political Protest

Recording a demonstration in London in 2017 protesting a series of attacks involving throwing acid and other toxic substances in the face of women who spurn sexual advances and other behaviors disliked by the attackers.

Google, the world’s most widely used search engine, has come under especially strong criticism for failing to display or provide a link to websites that the government does not wish to be seen by users in that country. The company has struggled to comply with the strict control over social media exercised by China’s government.

Violated User Rights

Individuals are harassed or jailed for online activity deemed unacceptable by authorities. Governments are finding it increasingly difficult to stop the diffusion of technology. Their citizens are finding ways to circumvent government restrictions on ownership of hardware, use of software, and viewing of online content.

Instead, according to Freedom House, governments are turning instead to harassing their citizens through physical attacks and imprisonment because of their Internet activity. In some countries, governments have enacted laws that provide a justification for attacks. For example, a law in The Gambia makes it a criminal offense to use the Internet to criticize public officials. A law in Ethiopia permits the government to search computers, Internet sites, and other social media for anything that it considers damaging to the country.

A number of countries require transnational corporations to maintain a local server in order to do business there. The government has the right to access the data that is stored on the local server.

Freedom House has also determined that women and the LGBTQ communities have been targeted in a number of countries for their online activities. A woman was stoned to death in Pakistan in 2013 for possessing a cell phone. Gay men in Russia have been lured through social media to in-person meetings, where they are assaulted by hate groups.

The three worst offending countries, according to Freedom House, are Iran, Syria, and China. In Iran, especially harsh punishments are imposed on people who promote causes opposed by the government. In Syria, government supporters launched malware cyberattacks against the computers of thousands of antigovernment protestors. In China, individuals posting antigovernment messages on blogs and websites have been arrested.

Russia and Turkey are considered the two countries where Internet freedom has suffered the most severe declines in recent years. In Russia, several laws have been enacted since 2012 to block online content critical of the government, and these laws have been used to arrest antigovernment leaders. In Turkey, government censorship of Internet content has increased, including shutting down YouTube and Twitter, and government protestors and journalists have been arrested for posting critical content online.

Pause & Reflect 4.3.3

If you lived in a “not free” country, what use of electronic media might get you into trouble? Why?