Internet Censorship 2023: An Overview of Censorship in 149 Countries

[Orchid]

Some countries are a great deal more free than others when it comes to internet censorship and surveillance. Cloudwards.net dove into the wacky world of repression and rated 149 countries according to how free and unfree they are, with some surprising results.

MalwareTips Community,

This page from CloudsWards.net lists what countries (in the world) are most restrictive or nonrestrictive to internet privacy and their privacy laws. The criteria CloudWards use the list as follows:

• Surveillance
• Network Access Inequality
• Net Neutrality in EU Countries
• Freedom of Speech Restrictions
• Social Media Restrictions
• VPN Bans
• Torrenting Restrictions

I have been using this as a guide to figure out what service/servers/programs I should use on my laptop. I know that not every law will protect internet users outside their country, but some do. We (internet users) have to look for it. I hope you'll find this webpage helpful.

Source:
Internet Censorship 2023: Find Out Where Repression Reigns: An Overview of Internet Censorship in 149 Countries Around the World

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

I know that not every law will protect internet users outside their country, but some do.

What exactly do you mean by this statement?

 

[HarborFront]

That article was posted on 12 June 20

Look at my post below to look for the latest in VPN-friendly countries

New Update - VPN-Friendly Countries

This is what I can find so far on the net. Correct my list if it's wrong or if you have the latest info on changes to data retention for any country, please update here. Updated based on the 2 lists below Data Retention Laws By Countries - An Update - PureVPN Blog...

malwaretips.com

 

[Orchid]

What exactly do you mean by this statement?

@Oerlink I mean, if you use a service that is in Sweden and you're in the U.S.A, the Sweden Privacy Law may not protect U.S.A users who may be using Sweden services.

That article was posted on 12 June 20

Look at my post below to look for the latest in VPN-friendly countries

New Update - VPN-Friendly Countries

This is what I can find so far on the net. Correct my list if it's wrong or if you have the latest info on changes to data retention for any country, please update here. Updated based on the 2 lists below Data Retention Laws By Countries - An Update - PureVPN Blog...

malwaretips.com

@HarborFront, I know. The webpage was last updated in June 2020, and I saw your post. However, this page doesn't talk about data retention or VPN specifically. The page talks more about the country and its privacy laws. Specifically: Social Media, Net Neutrality, Torrenting, Freedom of Speech, etc. Some content may be the same, but other aspects are different (from your post). This webpage might be helpful for anyone wanted to see a broader view of the country's privacy (of what they block/allow).

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

@Oerlink I mean, if you use a service that is in Sweden and you're in the U.S.A, the Sweden Privacy Law may not protect U.S.A users who may be using Sweden services.

No software publisher or service provider in any country is going to protect users when presented with a lawful order to reveal user information. That's not even the worst of it. Threat actors want your information a lot more than police do. Everybody is so worried about the police and government surveillance, and yet the greatest active threat are threat actors that steal user data everywhere.

As far as privacy laws go, generally, if you are not a citizen of the nation then such consumer protections do not apply to you. For example, GDPR only applies to a US citizen residing within the EU and only for the time range in which they resided there. It would also apply to a US citizen who transits through the EU, but again the protection only applies to the time period of the transit. In short, GDPR applies to anyone who is physically present within the EU.

 

[Pixelman]

Wow. Nice.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Everybody is so worried about the police and government surveillance, and yet the greatest active threat are threat actors that steal user data everywhere.

Cyber criminals only want your money, your creds or to steal your identity to make money. Nation states may want to torture you at worst or beat you with a $5 wrench or rubber hose at best to get what they want, then you disappear for good. Sounds appealing, doesn't it?

I know which one I'm more worried about .

 

[Orchid]

As far as privacy laws go, generally, if you are not a citizen of the nation then such consumer protections do not apply to you. For example, GDPR only applies to a US citizen residing within the EU and only for the time range in which they resided there. It would also apply to a US citizen who transits through the EU, but again the protection only applies to the time period of the transit. In short, GDPR applies to anyone who is physically present within the EU.

Privacy laws may generally protect their citizens in some countries but not always. The countries may also have other legislation to protect non-citizens. For instance: Switzerland has a Switzerland Constitution which protects its citizens. However, they also have: The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA), The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Swiss Laws Protect Your IP Address (which is part of the Swiss Constitution and The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA)).

The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA) states as quote

It provides protections from foreign companies misusing the personal data of Swiss citizens, but also prevents Swiss companies from mishandling their users’ personal information.

As this law is based on the constitutional provision for data protection, the DPA states that any data subject interacting with a Swiss company must give the company permission to process personal data that belongs to them. Because of the law’s extraterritorial reach, your data will be kept safe with any Swiss company, no matter where you’re from.

So, from evaluations on this. Anyone who uses a Swiss company and is not a Swiss citizen has their information/data safe because of The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA).

Link of Reference I spoke about above:
Swiss Privacy Laws in 2023: The Best in the World? - By Aleksandar Kochovski

 

[TairikuOkami]

I hope you'll find this webpage helpful.

I do not, because that webpage is biased, they do not take into the account "legal" censorship that is aplied in many countries, by social media and so on. Just the "bad" guys like China.

Slovakians enjoy a free internet, with blocks only placed on unlicensed gambling websites. There are no blocks on social media or other applications.

I can not only laugh about this statement. The government and media literally promote censhorship. The admin on the police facebook praised himself, that he made FB to block opposition politians. And it is not just about politics, local man was arrested and jailed for eshop selling religious slavic items, which predate christianity. The same goes for doctors and so on. Just today, the national TV has removed the interview with the American economist Jeffrey Sachs, because he said that war is bad and the peace is good, and that is an illegal statement in EU right now.

 

[cruelsister]

The actual data regarding the USA was censored on CloudsWards.net

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

Nation states may want to torture you at worst or beat you with a $5 wrench or rubber hose at best to get what they want, then you disappear for good.

I know which one I'm more worried about .

You realistically see that happening in the EU, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan? For those that subscribe to conspiracy theories, then sure, yeah. It could jump-off at any second.

If you live in Belarus, Chechnya, Iran, China, DPRK, etc then sure, it is a valid concern.

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

Privacy laws may generally protect their citizens in some countries but not always. The countries may also have other legislation to protect non-citizens. For instance: Switzerland has a Switzerland Constitution which protects its citizens. However, they also have: The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA), The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Swiss Laws Protect Your IP Address (which is part of the Swiss Constitution and The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA)).

The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA) states as quote



So, from evaluations on this. Anyone who uses a Swiss company and is not a Swiss citizen has their information/data safe because of The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA).

Link of Reference I spoke about above:
Swiss Privacy Laws in 2023: The Best in the World? - By Aleksandar Kochovski

Thank you. Interesting. It would be nice to see how effective such a law would be at protecting user data under a real case.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

You realistically see that happening in the EU, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan? For those that subscribe to conspiracy theories, then sure, yeah. It could jump-off at any second.

If you live in Belarus, Chechnya, Iran, China, DPRK, etc then sure, it is a valid concern.

I was speaking for those countries listed in the second half of your post. It's a big worry in other countries as well not listed, you could go on and on sadly. Internet freedom is a dying principle, and it seems so are human rights in a lot of countries (where there any in the first place I would ask?). But if you live in "EU, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan" you're not likely to disappear per say but abuses of power do happen and are swept under the rug and covered up.

You know there is a reason why people joke about there being a 'black van' watching outside on your street waiting to nab you. It comes from somewhere. The problem is the governments of the world have figured it out, become a troublemaker and then you get hit with national security charges and that's all folks.

 

[Orchid]

I like to jump in and expand on what @Zero Knowledge said. Technically yes, when it comes to countries like the U.S.A, Australia, EU, Canada, etc. Governments spy on their citizens and everyone in the world without them even knowing. However, there has been proof of this happening in the U.S.A. In 2013 a whistleblower, Edward Snowden, released documents revealing the government mass surveilling U.S. citizens and everyone else in the world. I know this may be a touchy subject, and some people may think of Edward as a traitor/hero, but he is why improvement on the internet has changed since 2013. @Oerlink, you can do what you want with this information. I'm trying to share the information and knowledge of what I know and inform others who may not be aware.

References
NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily
NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others
U.S., British intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program
Edward Snowden: Leaks that exposed US spy programme

 

[Zero Knowledge]

some people may think of Edward as a traitor/hero, but he is why improvement on the internet has changed since 2013.

I used to think he was a hero, now it's 50/50 whether he is just an annoying troll or pest (kind of like me ) commenting on security/encryption issues. I think his greatest gift to society and the world was the speed at which encryption and security was brought forward and adopted by at least 10 years. I don't think we would have E2EE apps or universal HTTPS like we do now, In the end I think he did good by shinning a light on surveillance and that his legacy is a good one despite his character issues.

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

@Oerlink, you can do what you want with this information.

I'm not doing anything with the information. I simply asked a question, and the person replied and answered what they meant.

It also does not change the fact that cybercriminals are an exponentially greater threat by orders of magnitude to the typical digital citizen than any "surveillance" of those citizens by their home government, at least in the "western world," which was my point. That statement in no way diminishes or takes away from what you are saying.

Snowden is a criminal, but at the same time his intentions were good. As a result, governments (not just the US) that were watching learned lessons in the process, subsequently applying those lessons in ways to create state surveillance that cannot be challenged on the basis of its "legality" or "social acceptability."

Is mass state surveillance really a problem or is most of the hubub about the "potential for abuse?" In western nations there is little chance that state surveillance will be used to oppress its own citizens. Most of the outcry is by people irked that their data is collected and might be queried. If a person living in a western nation cares about what happens in Angola or Iran, well I suppose they can get caught up in it, but what happens - privacy or human rights violations - in those places has nothing to do with what happens on their home turf.

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

I used to think he was a hero, now it's 50/50 whether he is just an annoying troll or pest (kind of like me ) commenting on security/encryption issues. I think his greatest gift to society and the world was the speed at which encryption and security was brought forward and adopted by at least 10 years. I don't think we would have E2EE apps or universal HTTPS like we do now, In the end I think he did good by shinning a light on surveillance and that his legacy is a good one despite his character issues.

He definitely isn’t a troll