Georgia among world’s top 10 with freedom on net
Freedom House reported that the internet and social media in particular, continued to be effective tools to share diverse content and for advocacy in Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Georgia is among the world’s top ten countries, which enjoy freedom on the net, based on the Freedom House report released earlier today.
The Freedom on the Net report assessed 65 countries between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019.
Authorities generally respected digital rights in Georgia during the coverage period, which saw the enactment of a new constitution that guarantees the right to internet access”, it says about Georgia.
It further noted that “threats to internet freedom persisted on a number of fronts”. “While access increased, the growth was sluggish”, the report says.
The new #FreedomOnTheNet report launches TODAY and finds global internet freedom has declined for 9 straight years. https://t.co/4ZwvGk7RQn pic.twitter.com/FJXbMEFUqe
— Freedom House (@freedomhouse) November 5, 2019
However, the report explains that the government “does not place any restrictions on internet connectivity, and the backbone internet infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies” in Georgia.
Georgian users do not face restrictions in accessing websites, uploading or downloading content, hosting their own websites, and contacting other users via forums, social media platforms, and communications apps”, Freedom House reports.
It also says that “the internet, and social media in particular, continued to be effective tools to share diverse content and for advocacy”.
Freedom House has released its Freedom in the World 2019 Report, which says that Georgia holds regular and competitive elections, and its democratic trajectory shows signs of improvement.
Georgia was ranked among the 59 'partly free' countries. Its score was again 64 on a scale of 1 to 100. In addition, on a seven-point scale of the freedom rating, where one point meant the most free and seven points meant the least free, Georgia ranked three points for the fourth time in a row.
The Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili says that Freedom House’s latest report, Nations in Transit 2018, released yesterday is "extremely biased and based on unbalanced information” about Georgia. "I believe that Freedom House should think twice before it spreads such biased assessments about Georgia’s democratic development level,” the PM stated today about the report which lowered Georgia’s democracy score from 4.61 to 4.68.
Freedom House, a US-based, government-funded non-governmental organization for democracy, political freedom and human rights says in its Nation in Transit 2018 report that Georgia will not experience any political earthquakes in 2018.
Georgia has scored 61 points in the Freedom in the World 2020 report by Freedom House, an annual global report on political rights and civil liberties, covering developments in 195 countries and 15 territories between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019.
The Georgian National Communications Commission is taking action to introduce 5G internet in Georgia by 2020, announces the commission. The commission announced that it had already carried out "large-scale work" to instal 5G internet infrastructure and soon will announce a tender for telecommunications companies.
Georgia has improved its Freedom on the Net ranking by one point compared to last year for a score of 76, bringing the country from tenth to seventh place in the global ranking, Freedom House reports.
Georgia has improved its Freedom on the Net ranking by one point compared to last year for a score of 77.