Internet freedom in free fall: Germany loses in global comparison

The global decline in internet freedom continues for the 15th consecutive year. Drivers include the suppression of mass protests, increasing censorship, and threats to freedom of expression. This is according to the "Freedom on the Net 2025" report by the US civil society organization Freedom House. The internet is reportedly more controlled and manipulated today than ever before.

Conditions for online rights deteriorated in 27 of the countries surveyed, while only 17 saw improvements. Particularly noteworthy: Internet freedom declined even among countries classified as "free." Here, Germany, along with the USA, suffered a significant drop of three points on the 100-point scale. It thus follows Georgia in the negative assessment, which experienced the biggest slump in this category with minus four points.

The authors identify criminal prosecutions of individuals who created memes about politicians as a significant factor for Germany's unfavorable performance. Laws against insult and hate speech have had an impact. In parallel, "self-censorship among the population" has increased, it is stated. This development is attributed to several causes: intimidation of journalists by right-wing extremist actors, professional and legal reprisals against critics of the Israeli government online, and general concern about the increase in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate postings. The latter have also led to threats and violence against Jewish and Muslim people in the offline world.

The researchers identify cyberattacks on the CDU prior to the European elections in June 2024 as another worrying incident, attributed to actors with ties to the Russian state.

Pressure not only in authoritarian regimes

Globally, according to the analysis, authoritarian regimes are increasingly using control over online information as a central instrument to consolidate their power. Countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, and Venezuela, which have seen the most extreme declines in internet freedom in recent years, have intensified their surveillance of the digital space in direct response to challenges to their rule.

According to the authors, the manipulation of the online space has reached a new peak overall: authorities have increasingly and deliberately promoted preferred narratives, thus distorting public discourse. Freedom House laments that internet freedom is at a critical turning point. Influencing factors include developments such as rising state investments in AI, the expansion of satellite-based internet connections, and increasing challenges to online anonymity. These processes profoundly affect people's fundamental rights.

Particular attention is paid to the end of online anonymity, as more and more governments worldwide are enacting restrictions in this area. This occurs, for example, by limiting access to services that ensure private communication and by mandating the use of identity verification procedures as a condition for accessing certain online spaces, such as the most common social media platforms.

The end of anonymity?

Online anonymity has long been considered an important safeguard for freedom of expression. It was particularly useful in authoritarian societies where citizens would otherwise have to fear retribution for political statements, their beliefs, or their identity. The new restrictions therefore also pose a direct threat to online privacy and access to information, the authors lament. They could further fragment the global internet.

During the reporting period, governments across the spectrum have restricted tools that serve data protection, is another finding. Myanmar, Russia, and Venezuela blocked the encrypted messaging platform Signal in the summer of 2024. Even in democracies like Great Britain, the government attempted to force Apple to undermine its end-to-end encryption standards. Overall, users in 17 countries were affected by blockages of consistently encrypted communication platforms between January 2020 and March 2025.

Another method for undermining anonymity is laws on mandatory identity verification for online contributions, criticizes the NGO. Even democracies have introduced regulations for age verification, for example, in the name of child protection, or are considering this, which fundamentally changes online communication. Such requirements could force users to upload government IDs or undergo age verification, which uses, for example, automated facial recognition. Such systems are prone to abuse. Even in countries with strict data protection laws, security vulnerabilities could lead to the loss of identity documents or biometric data.

According to Freedom House, the negative trend can only be stopped if governments and the private sector increasingly commit to protecting internet freedom. The annual study assesses internet freedom in 72 countries, representing 89 percent of the world's internet users, using a standardized methodology and 21 indicators. In its current edition, it covers developments between June 2024 and May 2025. The NGO traditionally receives a large portion of its funding from the US Department of State. However, these grants are not to be used for reporting.

(jkj)