The Freedom House has ranked Armenia as a “free”country in its annual Freedom on the Net 2016 report.
“Internet freedom remained largely uninhibited in the past year, though Armenia’s overall score declined somewhat after police physically attacked journalists livestreaming protests in Yerevan,” the report says.
“The past year in Armenia has been marked by periods of civil unrest and regional conflict. However, historically the internet has remained relatively free in Armenia, with gradual improvements in infrastructure and accessibility connecting more of the population. Activists regularly use social media as a tool to promote their causes, and opposition and independent media flourish online,” the Freedom House says.
Armenia’s neighbor Georgia is also a “fee”cuntry, while Azerbaijan is “partly free. Turkey and Iran are both ranked as “not free.”
Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are all rated as “not free,” Kyrgyzstan is “partly free.”
Estonia and Iceland top the ranking. Other countries rated as “free” include Canada, the United States, Germany, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Georgia, Italy, South Africa, Philippines, Argentina, Hungary, Kenya and Armenia. Chine, Syria and Iran are at the bottom of the list.
Freedom on the Net provides analytical reports and numerical scores for 65 countries worldwide.
The Freedom on the Net index measures each country’s level of internet and digital media freedom based on a set of methodology questions developed in consultation with international experts to capture the vast array of relevant issues that enable internet freedom.
Given increasing technological convergence, the index also measures access and openness of other digital means of transmitting information, particularly mobile phones and text messaging services.
