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   Global internet freedoms deteriorated (again) in 2025 - Germany, Georgia & US   
   lost ground   
      
   Date:   
   Sat, 15 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   According to Freedom House, the internet is more controlled and manipulated   
   than ever before. And democracies aren't immune.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The internet is more controlled and manipulated today than ever before.    
      
   That's the verdict from the annual Freedom of the Net report published on   
   November 13. It found that global internet freedoms have worsened for the    
   15th consecutive year this year.    
      
   While the decline of online anonymity is a huge concern, the control of    
   online information has kept escalating as well.    
      
   The process isn't exclusive to authoritarian nations, either. Nine of the 18   
   countries with an internet freedom status of 'Free' have lost ground, with    
   the biggest declines seen in Georgia, Germany, and the US.    
      
   In 2025, citizens worldwide were once again forced to find new ways to    
   protect their digital rights. This has driven demand for tools like the best   
   VPNs and other censorship circumvention technologies.   
      
   A decline of democratic values   
      
   During the coverage period (June 2024-May 2025), the biggest decline in   
   internet freedoms occurred in Kenya . In June, the government carried out a   
   violent crackdown on nationwide protests, shutting down the internet for the   
   first time in the country's history.    
      
   This was indicative of a wider trend that continued across several other   
   democracies.    
      
   "In a concerning trend, conditions in democracy suffered, and half of the 18   
   countries ranked free by Freedom on the Net experienced score declines. Only   
   two improved," confirmed Freedom House's Research Analyst for technology and   
   democracy, Grant Baker.    
      
    Georgia experienced the most significant decline of any country previously   
   rated as 'Free'. This downturn, Baker explains, followed the ruling party   
   enacting "repressive measures" targeting civil society and independent media   
   outlets in August 2024.    
      
   Even more surprisingly, perhaps, Germany is the next on this list. Since   
   February, the new government "has pursued criminal prosecutions against    
   people who made memes about politicians, invoking laws against insult and    
   hate speech," Freedom House noted. Levels of self-censorship have also   
   increased across the country.   
      
   The United States recorded the next-biggest decline among countries ranked   
   'Free' this year, following Georgia and Germany. Experts detailed that the   
   Trump administration detained several foreign nationals for one to two months   
   after revoking their visas due to nonviolent online expression.    
      
   "The online environment remained diverse and free, buoyed by protections   
   offered by the US Constitution's First Amendment. However, growing   
   restrictions on civic space threatened to stifle digital activism," said   
   Baker.    
      
   While the setbacks among established democracies is troubling, the broader   
   picture is still defined by extreme digital repression in authoritarian   
   contexts.    
      
    China and Myanmar , for example, still sit at the bottom of the rankings,   
   while Iceland held its place as the freest, followed by Estonia .   
      
   Same tactics, different governments   
      
   China, Myanmar, and Russia remain at the forefront of global internet   
   censorship and information controls. And they continue to develop new   
   techniques and technologies to advance their capabilities.    
      
   However, experts also uncovered a growing: the deliberate, cross-border    
   spread of censorship technology and repressive tactics among like-minded   
   governments.    
      
   As we previously reported, China is helping Pakistan build a Great   
   Firewall-like internet censorship system, and, according to Freedom House,   
   Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Belarus are also busy building   
   similar infrastructure.    
      
   Given these trends, it's highly probable that we'll also record an increase    
   in coordinated VPN censorship campaigns in these countries.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/global-internet-freedoms-de   
   teriorated-again-in-2025-germany-georgia-and-us-lost-ground   
      
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