As of September, Freedom House listed the United States as the second-most “free” country in terms of Internet freedoms (within a 47-country sample), outranked only by Estonia. The rankings were based on three general criteria: “Obstacles to Access” (e.g. keeping citizens from being able to access computers or specific applications), “Limits on Content” (e.g. blocking, censoring, or altering online content), and “Violations of User Rights” (e.g. surveillance or jailing of online dissidents). The PRISM revelations have nothing to do with the first two criteria, but definitely deal a huge blow on the third.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 06:42:28 +0000