Sri Lanka’s internet freedom declined from June 2021 to May 2022

Sri Lanka’s internet freedom declined during the period of June 2021 to May 2022 due to Government attempts to repress online activities related to protests around the economic crisis, the Freedom on the Net report 2022 said.

Prolonged powercuts in the early part of the year also impacted connectivity. In April 2022, the Government briefly blocked multiple social media and communications platforms. Emergency regulations imposed in April and May sought to curb dissent by barring the spread of purportedly false information, including online.

Law enforcement officials continued to arrest, detain, and intimidate internet users, including journalists, for online posts related to the protests.

In addition, hacktivist groups claimed to have hacked government websites in solidarity with protesters, bringing down the presidential website and breaching some government databases, though the extent of the attacks remained unclear.

Global internet freedom as measured by Freedom on the Net declined for the 12th consecutive year. The sharpest downgrades were documented in Russia, Myanmar, Sudan, and Libya.

Following the Russian military?s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin dramatically intensified its ongoing efforts to suppress domestic dissent and accelerated the closure or exile of the country?s remaining independent media outlets. In at least 53 countries, users faced legal repercussions for expressing themselves online, often leading to draconian prison terms.

Freedom on the Net said China was the world?s worst environment for internet freedom for the eighth consecutive year. Censorship intensified during the 2022 Beijing Olympics and after tennis star Peng Shuai accused a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official of sexual assault. The government continued to tighten its control over the country?s booming technology sector, including through new rules that require platforms to use their algorithmic systems to promote CCP ideology. At the same time, 26 countries recorded internet freedom improvements.

Despite the overall global decline, civil society organizations in many countries have driven collaborative efforts to improve legislation, develop media resilience, and ensure accountability among technology companies. Successful collective actions against internet shutdowns offered a model for further progress on other problems like commercial spyware. (Colombo Gazette)

Read the full report here