Governments control online content, violating human rights

The internet has become a powerful force to spread news in the blink of an eye. The internet and communication and information technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have given a rise to civil society and to lone bloggers, netizens, or “citizen journalists”. Moreover, people are frequently using the internet to check the news rather than using newspapers. 

Why do governments block some e-content?

Governments are trying as much as they can to control independent media and the information that gets to the public. Furthermore, in many developing countries or those with authoritarian governments, government policies play a larger role in determining how information is produced, consumed, and by whom than the internet. However, new technologies make it harder for governments to regulate the flow of information until it becomes impossible.

For a number of reasons, including national cultural standards or political concerns, countries censor internet information. India, for instance, passed legislation permitting specific websites to be blocked under the pretext of public safety. Others purport to stop copyright or trademark infringement by blocking websites or domains. A growing number of regimes also restrict the websites of the independent media, human rights organizations, and political opponents, according to Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). 

Egypt

According to ARTICLE 19, the Egyptian government began a broad campaign to censor journalistic, political, and human rights websites in May 2017. They also blacklisted a significant number of websites that assist users in getting around website bans. In 2022, there were 558 websites and URLs that banned in the country altogether. 

Some NGOs affirmed that Articles 57, 65, 68, and 71 of the Egyptian constitution, which protect citizens' rights to know and access information as well as their right to use the internet, are all violated by the Egyptian government's ongoing practice of blocking websites. They urged Egypt's government to immediately stop internet censorship, unblock news websites, and uphold press freedom.

Iran 

According to research by internet watchdog Surfshark, Iran ranked second in the world for internet censorship in 2022 after frequently cutting off the internet in some areas of the country. Iran responded to anti-regime protests by repeatedly cutting off the internet and shutting down mobile networks throughout the country's capital, Tehran, and other regions after footage of women burning their hijabs went viral on social media and the internet, Al Arabiya News reported. 

India

According to Index of Censorship, for the past three years, India has consistently ranked among the top five countries that have asked Twitter to remove content or block accounts. According to Twitter's July 2022 transparency report, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and India accounted for 97% of all legal requests for such deletions made globally in the second half of 2021.

India routinely imposes restrictions on what the media may say on Twitter, in accordance with the deteriorating situation for media freedom in the nation. India made 114 out of the 326 legal requests for verified journalists and news organizations during the second half of 2021.

As a result of a change to the Information Technology Act of India that went into effect on April 6, social media sites are now required to fact-check any posts relevant to government business with the Press Information Bureau. 

Sudan

At the beginning of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, MTN Sudan temporarily shut down the internet at the request of the government's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. A few days after the ceasefire ended, the country saw almost complete internet outages as fighting between the military and the Rapid Support Forces grew more intense and took their battles online. They are competing to promote fake news, according to several sources in Sudan who spoke to SMEX.

Internet outages during armed conflict put citizens’ safety in danger, limit access to emergency services, and prevent people from communicating with their families. Additionally, this detrimental practice limits the right to free speech and makes it possible for the military to cover up crimes against humanity and violations of human rights, SMEX reported.