The original vision of the internet was to create a global network that connected anyone and everyone without restriction. This open ideal was a revolutionary idea at the time and its impact has been monumental to say the least. You’d be hard pressed to find any other inventions that have had such a significant impact on modern life. It has completely transformed our world.
The unfortunate thing is that the open nature of that original vision hasn’t quite played out like it was imagined in many areas across the world. For a range of different reasons, mostly political in nature, certain governments around the world have taken it upon themselves to control how the internet is used in their jurisdictions, censoring certain content and mandating the usage of selected portals and platforms.
For those of us in countries without such censorship, it’s difficult to relate to what that must be like because we’ve never had such restrictions. But for those who are in those censored countries, they have a very different experience of the internet itself. Typically, these restrictions are applied to things like torrenting, pornography, social media, political media, and the like.
In this article, we’re going to explore those countries who have stringent censorship plans in place to give you a sense of just how widespread this actually is.
We’ve also rated each country out of 10 in terms of the extent of the censorship, with 10 being full censorship and 0 being no censorship at all. In coming up with these ratings we have considered social media policies, VPN accessibility, website blocking, torrenting, data privacy, governmental surveillance, and political interference.
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North Korea
This one should be no surprise. North Korea continues to be under the tyranny of its mercurial supreme leader and in an attempt to control all media and stifle any dissenting views, the internet itself is heavily censored in all its forms. Users in the country have never experienced an open internet and so don’t have any sense of how much they are missing out on. Social media, pornography, torrents, and VPNs are all banned, but the most egregious form of censorship in the country relates to political media. There is only one media outlet that is allowed to publish news in the region and that is the Korean Central News Agency – an organization carefully controlled by the government.
The internet censorship in North Korea is one of the key reasons that its people remain so disenfranchised and disconnected from the rest of the world. In fact, it’s reported that only 4% of the population actually have access to the internet at all. It’s a deliberate tactic to keep users in the dark and unaware of what’s happening elsewhere – and that’s what makes it the most censored place in the world.
In addition, because of the strict information control in and out, the actual impact of the censorship might be even worse than we realize. From the outside, we simply don’t have a good sense of exactly how things play out on the ground.
Ranking: 10/10
China
Much of the global political conversation has been focused on China’s attempts to control any narratives surrounding their country and specifically their government – and for good reason. The Great Chinese Firewall, as it’s known colloquially, is an extremely advanced form of censorship that prohibits the publication of anything that criticizes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its practices. This stifles any real political debate in the country and maintains the party’s power over the region. As a result, all social media outlets from the West (which tend to be much more liberal in their content moderation) are banned, as well as pornography and VPNs.
China has developed its own social media networks which fulfill the same functions as their Western counterparts, but everything being published on those sites is carefully monitored for certain keywords and discussions. And they have shown time and time again that they will not hesitate to inflict severe punishments on citizens who step out of line.
When it comes to torrenting, there are no real restrictions here as copyright law isn’t enforced to a significant extent, so that’s one potential upside. But in the greater scheme of things, it remains the most important piece of censorship globally because of China’s role as an economic superpower.
It’s difficult to fathom just what it means to control the internet to this extent for over a billion people – but there is enough political will to do this at scale, so they find a way to do it. The country has faced significant global pressure in this regard but has remained resolute in their belief that this is the best way to govern.
Ranking: 9/10
Russia
Russia is another country that strives to control the internal narrative through censorship, though not quite to the extent that we see with China or North Korea. Political media is specifically restricted but the use of pornography and social media is available in a limited capacity. All users who want to access social media sites have to do so with their mobile numbers which are carefully connected to their identity to remove any means of anonymity. This ensures that these tools can be carefully monitored and controlled.
There are not specific laws against certain political speech, as you might see in China, but the unwritten rules are very clear, and we have seen those who are outspoken politically find themselves in serious danger as a result. This social pressure acts as a form of censorship on its own.
There has been lots of talk about Russia building its own version of the internet entirely and so the situation there could change significantly if that comes to be. This is because the current system is remarkably decentralized, which makes it very difficult to monitor efficiently. It remains to be seen whether a Russia-specific internet is a viable political move and what reaction it would prompt from local communities.
Ranking: 7/10
Iran
Iran has a mix of censorship rules, with the most stringent restrictions placed on news media. As a country, they have a history of carefully controlling the political narrative in an attempt to maintain the status quo. We’ve seen that in response to protesters in the past, they have immediately shut down the internet entirely to slow the movement down and stifle communication as effectively as possible.
When it comes to social media, it is permitted to a certain extent – but there is still careful moderation and control over what sorts of conversations can be had politically. Every time that there is a perceived threat or significant anti-government sentiment, they will shut those sites down with no questions asked. Pornography is banned and VPNs can only be used if they are government-approved which renders them not that useful anyway – as it defeats the point if a government has to sign off on a VPN.
Worryingly, we’ve seen a few controversial bills being brought in front of the Iranian parliament to institute stricter internet censorship and hand over control of the internet to the armed forces. The proposed actions would create a board to oversee all social media platforms that operate in the country and preside over any violations as they see fit. This would also set in place the legal grounds for harsh fines and potential jail time for any proxy tools that are being distributed and used without prior governmental approval.
Ranking: 7/10
Turkmenistan
In Turkmenistan, all pornography and social media is blocked – and they remain one of the most repressive countries in the world when it comes to the free flow of information. They tend to fly under the radar a bit because they don’t hold much political sway on the global stage, but internally there is significant censorship that takes place. There have been numerous stories of journalists and activists being jailed if they speak out against the current president and the regime.
There are much more limited restrictions on torrenting and VPNs across the board – which makes things a little better, but with so little of the population having any access to the internet at all – it’s somewhat of a hollow victory. In addition, there have been numerous incidents of VPNs malfunctioning and other signs that things might not be as they appear. The government still remains extremely committed to controlling the national narrative and while there might not be outright censorship to the extent that you see with some other countries, there still remains an underlying concern about how free the internet actually is in practice.
Ranking: 6/10
Turkey
Turkey is a recent addition to this list as only in recent times have they started to impose censorship on certain websites and social media platforms. Most of this has been couched under a controversial law surrounding the ‘right to be forgotten’, which has noble intentions but leads to quite radical results. It appears that around 2,000 URLs, domain names, and social media posts have been censored by the government over the past year or two, with nearly half of those reporting on the president, his family, and the leading political party.
These take-down requests can be enforced almost unilaterally and cause significant concern for where censorship can go to from here. This is a situation that continues to unfold, and we’re likely to see lots of movement in the space – but the trend is a worrying one.
There were some reports that the government has banned the use of encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram, but these were immediately denied by the authorities. Instead, the country has merely called upon its citizens to shift away from foreign messaging apps to Turkish-based ones, for concerns around privacy. It remains to be seen whether this is a slippery slope going forward.
Ranking: 6/10
United Arab Emirates
The UAE imposes a range of different censorship methodologies depending on various factors. The most commonly understood form of censorship relates to any websites that violate their moral and ethical code, most specifically gambling sites and pornography. This comes as a result of an attempt to maintain a certain cultural code and has deep religious roots.
What is less obvious, but still equally concerning, is the increased use of censorship on content that criticizes the government or mandated social norms. It has emerged as a tool for controlling the narrative of the region for political purposes. We’ve seen examples of Qatar being isolated and chastised for alleged terrorist connections, and news sites who criticize the government being blocked entirely – just to illustrate the point.
This is underpinned by a dedicated strategy of state surveillance that monitors all online activity in the region, without any significant legal oversight to keep the government in check. The risk is mitigated somewhat by some diversification across the seven emirates, but this is not significant enough to give anyone confidence about how free the internet actually is in practice.
Ranking: 5/10
Pakistan
The extent of Pakistan’s typical internet censorship is limited to content that is deemed to be a threat to their national security or is blasphemous in nature. But we did see temporary bans of Facebook and Twitter in April after Anti-French protests by radical Islamists. This suggests that they will move to censor online activity in cases where they feel it would be politically desirable.
We’ve seen this play out in recent times with a controversial new internet censorship bill that would set broad parameters for the country’s internet regulator and would force social media companies to comply with any enforcements within 24 hours, and in some cases – within 6 hours. This has been met with firm backlash from within and so it remains to be seen if the bill will pass as is. But it highlights the fact that there is a lot of support for more widespread internet censorship, and it is definitely something to keep an eye on.
Ranking: 4/10
India
India is not typically a country that you associate with internet censorship, but during the recent political conflict with China, they have banned over 200 different Chinese websites, games, and applications due to concerns about their privacy.
What flies under the radar a little bit is that they do still retain some control over internet usage, a policy that was enacted after the tragic bombings in 2018. However, this control still faces stiff opposition in the country which is a good sign for future prospects. The government has been preparing a range of censorship rules for years now but has so far been unable to get them through the court of law and into the real world. Advocates for freedom of speech have been able to repel these efforts for the meanwhile.
Whether that will remain the case over the long term remains to be seen, but for now – the situation seems to be relatively stable.
Ranking: 4/10
Indonesia
In a similar vein to what we see in the UAE, the Indonesian government has implemented a moderate form of internet censorship targeted towards content that it finds immoral. This includes nudity, gambling, and hoaxes. It’s also worth noting that they have implemented temporary bans on social media platforms in the past, but these were subsequently lifted without much fuss.
The key example of this happening was in May 2019 when widespread riots broke out in Jakarta in response to the result of the general election. The government put in place a policy of censorship which was designed to block the circulation of provocative content that it believed would escalate the riots further. Even though the ban was subsequently lifted, it put a stain on free speech in the country and suggests that they might repeat such an action if they felt it was required.
Ranking: 4/10
Egypt
Egypt has a history of controlling and blocking content on social media sites in times of political instability. This is a reaction to the very public revolution that unseated then-president Mubarak back in 2011 which famously was organized through mass social media communication. Based on current reports, it seems that 600 websites have been blocked by the government, with the vast majority of them being media, political, and human rights platforms.
This was enacted in terms of a law that purported to combat information technology crimes, but it’s difficult to square that with how it’s actually played out in the country. It seems pretty transparent that the blockings relate to politics and not to privacy concerns necessary. While not as stringent as some other countries, it seems unlikely that this is trending in the right direction, despite renewed advocacy from activists.
Ranking: 3/10
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Summary
That brings us to the end of our global journey through the world of internet censorship. As you can see, there are still a vast number of regions that don’t benefit from the open internet that was first imagined and this control continues to be used as a means of dictating political narratives, stifling opposition, and enforcing certain cultural and moral norms on citizens.
We can only hope that we continue to move towards a more open internet over time, but for the meanwhile, citizens in those countries often have to look for workarounds in order to access the information they need.
Here at VPN Pal we provide information and comparisons on a wide range of VPN services to give you the best options for your unique needs. We are strong believers in internet freedom and privacy – and that’s why we do what we do. So, hopefully, this article has served as a useful resource for understanding the current state of internet censorship, wherever you may be.
A free and open internet is a crucial component of social progress as we seek to give every human being, regardless of background, the opportunity to engage with the world on a global scale. Free speech and freedom of information remain key pieces of a bright future in which the opportunity to make your own informed decisions is one that is available to all.
Here at VPN Pal we provide information and comparisons on a wide range of VPN services to give you the best options for your unique needs. We are strong believers in internet freedom and privacy – and that’s why we do what we do. So, hopefully, this article has served as a useful resource for understanding the current state of internet censorship, wherever you may be.
A free and open internet is a crucial component of social progress as we seek to give every human being, regardless of background, the opportunity to engage with the world on a global scale. Free speech and freedom of information remain key pieces of a bright future in which the opportunity to make your own informed decisions is one that is available to all.