WEB DESK
Pakistan is among the worst 10 countries in the world for internet and digital media freedom, according to a report by an internet watchdog.
The Freedom House, an international internet rights group, released its ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FoTN) report for the year 2019.
The report titled ‘The Crisis of Social Media’, recording an overall decline in global internet freedom between June 2018 and May 2019. The watchdog in its report placed Pakistan at 26, out of 100, one place down from last year’s ranking.
The country scored 5 out of 25 for obstacles to access, 14 out of 35 for limits on content, and 7 out of 40 for violation of user rights index.
The report said, globally, Pakistan is among the worst 10 countries in terms of internet and digital media freedom.
In terms of regional ranking, Pakistan emerged as the third worst country after Vietnam and China.
The report further said, besides decline in internet freedom, it found election manipulation in Pakistan through informational tactics such as the coordinated use of hyper-partisan commentators, bots, or news sites to disseminate false or misleading content as well as technical tactics, including intentional restrictions on connectivity and blocking of websites.
Since June last year, 33 of the 65 countries assessed in FoTN experienced deterioration in internet freedom.