Uzbekistan's internet freedom rated low in global assessment

The latest annual report, "Freedom on the Net," published by the international human rights organization Freedom House, reveals concerning trends regarding internet freedom across the globe. In this year's assessment, Uzbekistan has been rated with 27 points on a 100-point scale, placing it among countries where the internet is classified as not free.

The report evaluates 72 countries, categorizing them into three levels: free, partially free, or not free. This year, internet freedom has decreased in 27 countries, with notable declines in Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iraq, and Zimbabwe. Countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Venezuela, and Vietnam also fall into the not-free category, alongside Uzbekistan.

While Iceland and Estonia emerged as leaders in internet freedom, the report highlighted the ongoing global decline in internet freedoms over the past 14 years. This decline has been attributed to increasing governmental repression, particularly in areas related to electoral interference and the suppression of free expression online.

During the reporting period from June 2023 to May 2024, it was documented that 43 individuals were attacked or killed for their online expressions. Furthermore, governments in at least 41 countries blocked websites related to political, social, and religious discourse. A notable case involved Kyrgyzstan, where the government shut down the independent media site Kloop.kg for its reporting on alleged torture by authorities.

The Internet Freedom Index serves as a benchmark for measuring each country's level of Internet freedom and was developed with input from international experts. It emphasizes the importance of free information flow, freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy rights.

In a related finding, Uzbekistan ranked 91st out of 141 countries in terms of mobile internet speed, with an average download speed of 26.97 Mbit/s and an upload speed of 11.25 Mbit/s as of January 2024. Last year, Uzbekistan was positioned 100th in the same assessment.

This comprehensive overview of internet freedom underscores ongoing challenges in Uzbekistan and around the world, highlighting the need for vigilance and advocacy for digital rights.