Internet freedom in Asia
The report, Freedom on the Net 2018: The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism, published on 1 November 2018 shows that this year, Asia is leading the world in intentional Internet disruptions, egregious criminal penalties for online activities, and violence triggered by online disinformation. Score improvements in Asia were difficult to obtain as authorities in China actively propagated their techno-dystopian model both at home and abroad.
The Philippines went from the status ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ as content manipulation and cyber-attacks threatened to distort online information, while Bangladesh and Thailand both saw some improvements.
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