47 countries were assessed for internet freedom in a study by Freedom House covering developments from January 2011 to May 2012. The report is the third in its series and involved over 50 researchers, nearly all based in the countries they analyzed. It examines restrictions on free speech online in response to political events, with a focus on countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and China.
Use Cases
- Comparative analysis of internet censorship tactics based on country-level assessments
- Modeling the relationship between political systems and digital freedom based on the study's framework
- Tracking changes in internet freedom over time based on comparisons with previous editions covering 37 countries
Strengths
- Assessment covers 47 countries, a greater variety of political systems than previous editions
- Research conducted by over 50 contributors, most based in-country, suggesting local expertise
- Explicit time range defined from January 2011 to May 2012
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified
Provenance
- Source
- Freedom House
- Collection Method
- Research involved analyzing laws and practices, testing website accessibility, and interviewing sources.
- Time Range
- January 2011 - May 2012
- Freshness
- Data covers up to May 2012; recency is low for current analysis.
- Geography
- Global, covering 47 specific countries