Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


DIGITAL REPRESSION: Internet users worldwide are experiencing tighter restrictions, report reveals
By Olivia Cook // Nov 02, 2023

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and its rising influence are increasing the efficiency, scale and speed of "digital repression," with internet users worldwide experiencing tighter restrictions this year compared to last year.

This is according to a report released last month by Freedom House. Researchers of the report entitled Freedom on the Net 2023 assessed internet freedom (an umbrella term that includes digital rights, the right to internet access, freedom of information, freedom from internet censorship and net neutrality) in 70 countries, which account for 88 percent of the world's internet users.

After analyzing events in these countries between June 2022 and May 2023, Freedom House assigned scores on a 100-point scale to each, based on 21 indicators covering the areas of "obstacles to access, limits on content and violation of user rights." (Related: Ben Armstrong outlines the difference between FAKE FREEDOM and REAL FREEDOM.)

In total, 29 countries (more than a third) saw their scores tied to internet freedom decrease year-over-year.

"It's unsurprising that global internet freedom declined for the 13th consecutive year this year. Advances in AI have been grabbing headlines and its uptake is really increasing the efficiency of digital repression – as seen with censorship, disinformation and surveillance," Allie Funk, the report's co-author, told Voice of America.

AI accelerates decline of internet freedom

Funk pointed out that "more governments are blocking access to chatbots, controlling their outputs to reinforce state narratives and forcing companies to use AI to remove content from platforms at a rate that humans can't match."

Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Speak freely without censorship at the new decentralized, blockchain-power Brighteon.io. Explore our free, downloadable generative AI tools at Brighteon.AI. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions.

Iran, whose government has a history of internet censorship, is "home to this year's worst decline" – dropping five points. In a bid to quell anti-government protesters, Iran shut down internet service; blocked social media platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp; and increased surveillance.

Holding the title of the "world's worst environment for internet freedom," China has pioneered the use of AI chatbots to embed censorship by directly controlling the training data that the computer programs use.

China's generative AI chatbots, such as Baidu's Ernie Bot and Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen, are required to follow strict content controls to either repeat state propaganda or not answer questions about sensitive issues. (Related: Twitter exposes how govt. funded a 'cottage industry' of 'disinformation labs' that were used to censor real info and ban truth-tellers.)

Kian Vesteinsson, Freedom House senior research analyst for technology and democracy, said: "The Chinese people live under a system of censorship and surveillance that is more extreme than anywhere else in the world. Crackdowns on free expression were 'routine' in the country – a system characterized by journalists and critics being jailed and criticism erased from the internet."

The report's authors predicted that networks of pro-government commentators and related companies "will undoubtedly increase their reliance on AI's growth as a disinformation tool." (Related: Media watchdog says Elon Musk needs to WALK THE TALK to really safeguard freedom of speech in America.)

In a statement, Freedom House President Michael J. Abramowitz said: "Democratic states should bolster their regulation of AI to deliver more transparency, provide effective oversight mechanisms and prioritize the protection of human rights."

Visit Suppressed.news for more stories like this.

Watch this video discussing how the online safety bill will destroy internet freedom.

This video is from the Contrarian channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Not again: Musk to reinstate Twitter censorship tools after a meeting with leftist groups.

Elon Musk's Twitter purchase prompts conservatives to tweet previously censored messages as new censorship test for the platform.

Elon Musk, echoing ADL talking points, says new Twitter policy is 'freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.'

Elon Musk promises to reveal "more smoking guns" after exposing Twitter's suppression of Hunter Biden laptop story.

Sources include:

USNews.com

FreedomHouse.org 1

VOANews.com

FredomHouse.org 2

Brighteon.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.