For most people living in advanced nations, not only is being able to access the internet considered an inherent right, so is being freely able to access all corners of the internet while remaining in the legal ambit. Unfortunately, that is not the truth for the vast majority of people across the world. After all, many parts of the world don't even have majority access to the internet, as evidenced in the countries with the lowest internet penetration rates in 2023, where less than a quarter of the population can access the internet, while these countries, such as Pakistan, are also among the countries that censor the internet and ban social media.
On the other hand, there isn't exactly a direct correlation between internet access and censorship. Many of the countries censoring the internet the most are also among countries with really high internet penetration including several countries in the Middle East, not to mention China, which has the highest population (in absolute numbers) with internet access but is involved in heavy censorship, a move generally implemented by authoritarian governments in a bid to consolidate power, stifle dissent and spread propaganda. This also results in social media companies, and tech giants in particular, missing out on a massive potential customer base, though the countries which censor the internet the least have other factors which impact tech companies' operations there, including the biggest social media companies in Asia.
However, it is important to be aware that even the least censored companies with most internet freedom can also become a potential headache for internet companies, especially the most valuable social media companies in the world. The reasons though are completely different as the latter generally enact rules and regulations to protect the rights of customers and users, with Europe being a particularly relevant example, as it is home to many of the freest internet countries globally. Europe also enacts some of the toughest privacy and anti-competitive laws, despite not enacting any censorship, because of which social media have to comply with additional regulations or face heavy fines.
In fact, heavy fines are something that social media giants are getting used to in Europe, and in May 2023, the EU fined Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) an eye-watering $1.3 billion, or 1.2 billion euros, based on Meta Platforms, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) violation of Europe's GDPR laws, with the company sending personal data to the U.S. Andrea Jelinek, EDPB Chair, said: “The EDPB found that Meta IE’s infringement is very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous. Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.” While one of the biggest fines ever imposed against Big Tech, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was also hit with another huge fine back in 2022 with the fine amounting to around $400 million based on the company's handling of children's data in Europe.
While fines have a direct impact on profit in terms of decreasing it, the impact of higher privacy laws can also have a detrimental impact on business. Even though Europe is a continuously growing market for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), both high growth in Europe and challenges with conforming to its regulations were mentioned by the tech giant in its Q2 2023 earnings transcript where it stated "On a user geography basis, ad revenue growth was strongest in Rest of World at 16%, followed by Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific at 14%, 11% and 10%, respectively. Foreign currency was a headwind to advertising revenue growth in all international regions." The earnings call went on to state "In addition, we continue to monitor the active regulatory landscape. With respect to EU-U.S. data transfers, we saw a positive development with the European Commission’s adoption of a final adequacy decision, which allows us to continue to provide our services in Europe. This is good news, though broadly speaking, we continue to see increasing legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the US that could significantly impact our business and our financial results."
Similarly, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), another tech giant, has also faced really high fines from Europe, despite the region having many of the least-censored countries with the most internet freedom because of violations regarding its stringent regulations. This includes engaging in anti-competitive behavior, which resulted in European authorities fining the tech giant an incredible $5.1 billion, with anti-trust chief Margrethe Vestager stating "Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine". The European Union, in May 2022, also passed new laws to easily tackle illegal content with the companies violating these laws facing additional fines and other actions. Vestager was also the main force behind this Digital Services Act and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) will be one of the primary impacted companies based on this law, along with Meta. In response, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stated "As the law is finalized and implemented, the details will matter. We look forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone." Of course, considering the fact that both Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Meta have seen their share prices jump by 53% and 141% respectively, it seems like the growth in revenue from most regions is likely to offset, at least in the short term, the implications from more stringent European regulations.
Methodology
To determine the countries the least censored countries with the most internet freedom, we headed over to Freedom House which has statistics and scores on each country on a variety of criteria with reference to internet freedom. However, some of their statistics also have to do with internet access and infrastructure, which for us, doesn't really reflect government censorship. Hence, for our rankings we have taken the score of each country based on relevant criteria eg. government interference and limits on content, not to mention user rights violations, to rank the countries with highest internet freedom and no censorship, with the highest scoring country being ranked top. Where the scores are the same, we have ranked countries by population as the higher the population, the more the number of people with access to free and uncensored internet.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 56
Most African countries see high levels of internet censorship unlike Ghana, though draft legislation criminalizing both online and offline activities pertaining to the LGBTQ community, if passed, could see Ghana drop off our list.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 56
While the Angolan government does not censor or block websites other than those which are illegal, the country's poor internet infrastructure does not help much in internet access.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 60
Serbia is one of the countries with high levels of internet access, though progovernment websites owned by member of the ruling party are said to engage in disinformation tactics.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 60
One of only three African countries in our list, Kenya has seen internet freedom in the country continue to improve, though anonymity is a major concern for users as people who don't register their SIM cards are liable to a fine.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 60
One of the nations with the most internet freedom in Latin America, Argentina has seen women's rights activists continue to implement digital tools in a bid to bring more attention to gender issues.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 62
Surprisingly, Armenia is one of the least censored countries with the most internet freedom, though restrictions have been imposed previously especially in the wake of clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, while added restrictions have also been imposed which prevent criticism of the country's Prime Minister.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 63
While the Australian government has laid great emphasis on internet freedom, the Online Safety Act passed recently could result in higher surveillance while disinformation was widely spread ahead of the federal elections in May 2022.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 63
European countries dominate our list of least censored countries with the most internet freedom, and Italy is no exception though according to the Freedom House, internet freedom fell slightly in 2022 as compared to the previous year.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 63
The least censored country in Africa, South Africa has also seen internet penetration rates continue to increase. However, the country recently also passed the Film and Publications Amendment Act, which gives the country a lot more authority to censor online content, and could affect its position here.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 63
In 2021, France fined Google 500 million euros as a result of the company failing to negotiate licensing fees in good faith with French media outlets. Additional fines were levied on both Google and Facebook for increasing the level of difficulty to refuse cookies as opposed to the level of ease in accepting cookies.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 63
Germany implements no restrictions on social media access in the country, though an EU regulation resulted in several Russian media outlets being blocked in the country.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 63
Civil liberties are a big deal in Japan, which is why internet censorship is almost non-existent in the country. It also has a really advanced telecom industry which is why high speed internet is available for most residents.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 64
The First Amendment provision in the U.S. Constitution forbids interference from the Federal, State and local governments apart from preventing illegal activities such as child pornography, making it one of the countries with the most internet freedom in the world.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 65
The least censored country with the most internet freedom in Asia, Taiwan has ensured that the internet remains uncensored, while at the same time, battling misinformation campaigns being launched by China.
Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 65
The UK government does not intervene much in terms of internet access, though like most European countries, the UK has also placed restrictions on some Russian media outlets, to prevent propaganda from occurring.
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Disclosure: None. 20 least censored countries with most internet freedom is originally published on Insider Monkey.
