Taiwan had the freest Internet in Asia in this year’s Freedom on the Net report, and the seventh freest globally.
Freedom House today published its annual report on Internet freedom in 72 countries worldwide.
With a total score of 79 out of 100, Taiwan’s Internet was considered “free” by the Washington-based research nonprofit, which is funded by the US Congress, but run independently.
Photo courtesy of Freedom House
The report praised Taiwan’s efforts to combat misinformation in the lead-up to January’s elections, saying its “transparent, decentralized and collaborative approach ... stands as a global model.”
It mentioned the ability for people to submit claims on the Cofacts platform for fact-checking by both professional and community contributors.
False narratives about foreign relations, especially relations with the US, were dominant on Line, the report said.
It also mentioned a law passed in June last year that allows candidates to report deepfakes of themselves to social media companies.
Overall, the report found that Internet freedom fell for the 14th straight year globally, with more countries seeing declines than rises.
Myanmar and China have the world's worst Internet freedom, with declines reported in a number of other countries led by Kyrgyzstan, the study found.
The further deterioration in Myanmar, a Beijing ally where the military seized power in 2021, marks the first time in a decade that any country has matched China for the lowest score in the report.
In Myanmar, the junta has harshly cracked down on dissent since ending a decade-long experiment in democracy, with systematic censorship and surveillance of online speech.
Freedom House pointed to new measures imposed by the junta in May to block access to virtual private networks, which residents use to bypass Internet controls.
China has developed a sweeping "great firewall" meant to root out content that poses a threat to the Chinese Communist Party.
Asked about the report, Beijing said its people "enjoy various rights and freedoms in accordance with the law."
"As for the so-called report, I think it is entirely baseless and made with ulterior motives," Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said.
The country that showed the biggest drop in the survey was Kyrgyzstan, where authorities shuttered Web site Kloop, which is largely funded by US-based NGOs and had reported on allegations by an opposition leader of torture in custody.
Other countries downgraded included Azerbaijan — host of next month's COP29 climate summit — for detaining people over social media posts, and Iraq, where a prominent activist was slain after Facebook posts encouraging protests.
The biggest gains were seen in Zambia, with the report saying the country saw growing space for online activism.
Iceland was ranked the most free online, followed by Estonia and then Canada, Chile and Costa Rica.
The US held steady at 76 on a 100-point scale, with Freedom House renewing concern about the lack of safeguards against government surveillance.
It also pointed to actions by at least 19 US states against the misuse of artificial intelligence in election campaigns.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS