Introducing the Global Internet Freedom Index

Freedom House will reveal the findings from its new Global Internet Freedom Index, the world's first analytical standard for measuring internet freedom. The independent human rights organization developed the index in response to the growing threat posed by governments seeking to limit citizens' access to the internet. The pilot index compares internet freedom in 15 countries: Brazil, China, Cuba, Estonia, Egypt, Georgia, India, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The index evaluates each country based on barriers to access, content controls and violations of individual online rights. In addition to providing country narratives, the index assigns each country a score similar to the rankings Freedom House uses in its Freedom of the Press survey. Freedom House plans to expand the index worldwide with additional support and hopes that it will be a valuable tool for challenging government control and advancing freedom of expression online.