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16.01.2020 11 INTERVIEW global map of internet restriction fic sources and filter or block content. Russia's plans to build its own internet by 2021, so global social media sites like Facebook and Twitter may be severely censored or entirely blocked. But this may happen as early as this year if both companies fail to comply with Russia's request to store users' data within the country. Whatever the reasoning behind a gov- ernment's plans to place restrictions on social media, one thing is clear – free speech and privacy are at far greater risk if they do so. Which countries restrict or heavily censor news media? A large number of countries restrict news media in some way, whether it's through severe sanctions for journalists who talk about taboo subjects or the re- moval of online websites that try to pub- lish independent news. Canada, Australia, the majority of Eu- ropean countries, and some Southern American countries enable free online speech for journalists. Some of the worst culprits include Turk- menistan, North Korea, Eritrea, China, and Vietnam (the worst-ranked countries in the World Press Freedom Index). In Turkmenistan, anything that's pub- lished on the internet is strictly censored and few citizens have access to the inter- net anyway. Journalists working for for- eign media outlets have been known to be physically attacked, arrested, and tor- tured. ings are much the same in North Ko- rea where anything that is published is done so in a very controlled and censored manner. Anyone reading, watching, or listening to news from outside of North Korea might find themselves being sent to a concentration camp. Eritreans will rarely view any news that hasn't been vetted by the dictatorship, and things don't look as though they're going to improve anytime soon. President Issayas Afeworki said, "ose who think there will be democracy in this country can think so in another world." In China, all privately-owned media is tightly controlled by the Communist Party and foreign journalists frequently find themselves in dangerous situations. According to Reporters Without Bor- ders' latest report, over 120 bloggers and journalists are currently imprisoned in life-threatening conditions. Vietnamese journalists don't have it much better, either. All of them have to follow the orders of the Communist Party and persecution is common with plainclothes officers often subjecting them to violence. Any foreign online media source has to use Vietnamese servers to store their data and must submit this to the authorities when asked. e above are just a handful of examples of some of the testing conditions journal- ists are having to work in to try and bring citizens impartial news. But many other countries are also threatening freedom of speech with their rules and regulations. For example, the United States contin- ues to fall down the World Press Freedom Index rankings due to an increasingly hostile environment. is trend only looks set to continue as President Trump repeatedly states the press is an "enemy of the American peo- ple." Which countries restrict or ban VPNs? Only a handful of countries restrict VPNs and North Korea*, China, Russia, and Iraq, are the only countries to block them entirely. In the United Arab Emirates, VPNs are illegal if they're used to commit fraud or a crime but are available for institutions and companies. In Iran, VPNs are only permitted if they're approved by the government, which means they're not offering the se- curity and privacy many people want. In the countries where VPNs are re- stricted, governments often block access to these services even though they're not technically "illegal." *Even though there is some gray area over whether or not North Korea bans VPNs, it is highly likely they won't be available due to how heavily the govern- ment censors the internet there. Will online censorship become the "norm?" While it's no great surprise to see the likes of China, Russia, and North Korea topping the list, the growing number of restrictions in many other countries is greatly concerning. From the UK and Australia's potential porn blocks to growing political media hostility in the US, our online freedom is something we can no longer take for granted. ankfully, VPNs do still offer a way for many of us to surf the net privately (and legally). But as censorship becomes increasingly common, more and more countries could join the restricted list, putting citizens' digital privacy at risk. What about Malta? Malta was one of 37 countries who were jointly rated first in the world, with the only censorship limited to the restriction of torrents, common to all 175 countries in the report. The other countries were Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Canada, Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Namibia and New Zealand.

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