The
United States considers itself to be the world's greatest example of
equality, democracy and freedom. But many issues belie this,
particularly in foreign policy and voting rights. Many netizens will be surprised by the article below Please read and decide!
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From
usnews.com 10/28/2015
U.S. Lags
Behind Europe on Internet Freedom
Concerns about privacy and
surveillance in the U.S. remain despite reforms, a study says.
The U.S. ranked sixth in Internet
freedom, which has fallen around the world, in a recent study.
Governments around the world
expanded surveillance laws during the past year, and it is so far unclear
whether recent legislation passed by the U.S. will resolve a chilling decline in America's
Internet freedom, according to an annual study that tracks international
digital rights.
Controversies including broad
government surveillance and calls by law enforcement to limit the encryption of
consumer data have unbalanced America's reputation as a leader in Internet
freedom in recent years. This year's study from advocacy group Freedom
House saw the U.S. rank sixth out of 65 countries
assessed – the same position it held in 2014 after being demoted from fourth
place in 2013 and second place in 2012.
The study also scores countries'
digital rights on a scale of zero (most free) to 100 (least free). The U.S.
went from scores of 13 in 2011, 12 in 2012 and 17 in 2013 to a score of 19 in
2014 – the same ranking it currently holds.
Year
|
U.S. Internet Freedom Score
|
U.S. Ranking
|
2011
|
13
|
2
|
2012
|
12
|
2
|
2013
|
17
|
4
|
2014
|
19
|
6
|
2015
|
19
|
6
|
Source: Freedom
House
Internet freedom declined overall
around the globe this year, the report said, but the rankings changed little as
nations mainly consolidated restrictions on digital rights. Northern European
countries retained top ranks for Internet freedom, with Iceland staying in
first place, followed by Estonia. Canada came in third place for having the
most digital rights, while Germany took fourth place, demoting Australia to
fifth place – in part because Australia enacted legislation expanding
surveillance this past year.
China ranked as the worst offender
against digital rights in the study, followed by Syria, Iran, Ethiopia and
Cuba. These nations were ranked lowly due in part to their repression of free
speech online and their surveillance efforts.
The study factors in events that
occurred between June 2014 and the end of May 2015, meaning that it took into
account net neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission
but not the USA Freedom Act, which aims to limit
surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency.
Freedom House views the net neutrality rules as a boost to
digital rights because they call for Internet service providers and the
government not to disrupt wireless traffic, Laura Reed, a research analyst with
the organization, tells U.S. News.
"It is yet to be seen whether
the recently passed surveillance reforms will affect government spying
efforts," Reed says. "We do see potential for improvement
there."
Freedom House is also concerned by
calls from the FBI that tech firms like Apple and Google should not encrypt their services,
which can prevent users' data from being accessed following a government
request. Limits on such encryption have increased in democracies and
dictatorships alike during the past year, creating what the report says is a
threat to personal privacy and a boon to surveillance efforts.
"We are waiting to see where
the U.S. is going to come out on the encryption debate," Reed says.
Access to the Internet also played a
role in the report, and the U.S. lagged in that area behind nations like Japan
and the U.K., despite having a higher score for digital rights than those
countries. Freedom House praised efforts by the FCC to expand online access,
including through its opposition to a proposed merger
between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Reed says the merger would have lowered
incentives for the combined company to offer faster connection speeds for lower
prices.
"There are some Internet
service providers that have a monopoly on certain regional markets in the U.S.
and have few incentives to provide better service," she says.
"Internet access in the U.S. is strong, but it could be better."
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