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Internet Freedom in the Asia-Pacific Region Declined in 2024 [1]

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Date: 2024-10 

WASHINGTON—Internet freedom in the Asia-Pacific region deteriorated over the past year, with five countries recording net gains and seven countries experiencing declines, according to a new report released today by Freedom House. Freedom House analyzed online rights in 17 countries in the region.

The report, Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online, found that a number of governments in the region imposed new legal and technical restrictions on online speech and actively enforced existing ones. Several governments also subjected independent online media outlets to retaliation for their reporting, and progovernment commentators manipulated online discussions ahead of important elections. In addition, internet users in many countries—especially journalists, activists, and human rights defenders—continued to face arbitrary arrests, harassment, and violence for their online activities.

Despite this overall deterioration, there were some improvements. Taiwan, which has the highest score in the region, recorded no politicized arrests for online speech during the coverage period, and the online information landscape in Japan, a country with an already robust internet freedom environment, appeared to be less distorted than in previous years.

Other findings on the Asia-Pacific region include:

Myanmar and China ranked as the world’s worst environments for internet freedom. Myanmar’s score declined (−1) to tie with China for the worst total score in the report: 9 on a 100-point scale. The year marked the first time in a decade that any country has ranked as low as China.

Websites hosting political, social, and/or religious content were blocked in 14 of the 17 countries assessed in the region. In Cambodia, a week before general elections, the government blocked the news outlets Radio Free Asia and Cambodia Daily. The government also blocked access to Kamnotra, a database launched by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media that compiled public information on government decisions and land disputes. The sites remained blocked through the end of the coverage period.

Internet users were arrested, imprisoned, or detained in retaliation for their online speech in 14 of the 17 countries assessed. In Myanmar, a musician who went by Min Oat Myanmar was sentenced to 20 years in prison for criticizing coup leader Min Aung Hlaing on a Facebook live stream.

Highest score: Taiwan, with 79 points, earned the highest score in the region and was rated Free.

Largest improvement, biggest declines: Indonesia (49) had the largest score improvement (+2), due to improved fixed-line internet speeds and the unblocking of websites and platforms that had been blocked during the previous coverage period for failing to register under a sweeping content moderation law. South Korea (66), Malaysia (60), the Philippines (60), Singapore (53), Cambodia (43), Bangladesh (40), and Myanmar (9) all declined by 1 point, tying for the region’s largest score decrease.

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[1] Url: https://freedomhouse.org/article/fotn-2024-asia-pacific-release

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