20 Least Censored Countries with Most Internet Freedom

In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 least censored countries with most internet freedom. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 least censored countries with most internet freedom.

For most people living in advanced nations, not only is being able to access the internet considered an inherent right, so is being freely able to access all corners of the internet while remaining in the legal ambit. Unfortunately, that is not the truth for the vast majority of people across the world. After all, many parts of the world don’t even have majority access to the internet, as evidenced in the countries with the lowest internet penetration rates in 2023, where less than a quarter of the population can access the internet, while these countries, such as Pakistan, are also among the countries that censor the internet and ban social media.

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On the other hand, there isn’t exactly a direct correlation between internet access and censorship. Many of the countries censoring the internet the most are also among countries with really high internet penetration including several countries in the Middle East, not to mention China, which has the highest population (in absolute numbers) with internet access but is involved in heavy censorship, a move generally implemented by authoritarian governments in a bid to consolidate power, stifle dissent and spread propaganda. This also results in social media companies, and tech giants in particular, missing out on a massive potential customer base, though the countries which censor the internet the least have other factors which impact tech companies’ operations there, including the biggest social media companies in Asia.

However, it is important to be aware that even the least censored companies with most internet freedom can also become a potential headache for internet companies, especially the most valuable social media companies in the world. The reasons though are completely different as the latter generally enact rules and regulations to protect the rights of customers and users, with Europe being a particularly relevant example, as it is home to many of the freest internet countries globally. Europe also enacts some of the toughest privacy and anti-competitive laws, despite not enacting any censorship, because of which social media have to comply with additional regulations or face heavy fines.

In fact, heavy fines are something that social media giants are getting used to in Europe, and in May 2023, the EU fined Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) an eye-watering $1.3 billion, or 1.2 billion euros, based on Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) violation of Europe’s GDPR laws, with the company sending personal data to the U.S. Andrea Jelinek, EDPB Chair, said: “The EDPB found that Meta IE’s infringement is very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous. Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.” While one of the biggest fines ever imposed against Big Tech, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was also hit with another huge fine back in 2022 with the fine amounting to around $400 million based on the company’s handling of children’s data in Europe.

While fines have a direct impact on profit in terms of decreasing it, the impact of higher privacy laws can also have a detrimental impact on business. Even though Europe is a continuously growing market for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), both high growth in Europe and challenges with conforming to its regulations were mentioned by the tech giant in its Q2 2023 earnings transcript where it stated “On a user geography basis, ad revenue growth was strongest in Rest of World at 16%, followed by Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific at 14%, 11% and 10%, respectively. Foreign currency was a headwind to advertising revenue growth in all international regions.” The earnings call went on to state “In addition, we continue to monitor the active regulatory landscape. With respect to EU-U.S. data transfers, we saw a positive development with the European Commission’s adoption of a final adequacy decision, which allows us to continue to provide our services in Europe. This is good news, though broadly speaking, we continue to see increasing legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the US that could significantly impact our business and our financial results.”

Similarly, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), another tech giant, has also faced really high fines from Europe, despite the region having many of the least-censored countries with the most internet freedom because of violations regarding its stringent regulations. This includes engaging in anti-competitive behavior, which resulted in European authorities fining the tech giant an incredible $5.1 billion, with anti-trust chief Margrethe Vestager stating “Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine”. The European Union, in May 2022, also passed new laws to easily tackle illegal content with the companies violating these laws facing additional fines and other actions. Vestager was also the main force behind this Digital Services Act and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) will be one of the primary impacted companies based on this law, along with Meta. In response, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stated “As the law is finalized and implemented, the details will matter. We look forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone.” Of course, considering the fact that both Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Meta have seen their share prices jump by 53% and 141% respectively, it seems like the growth in revenue from most regions is likely to offset, at least in the short term, the implications from more stringent European regulations.