Libya

6.5 million people
12,320 USD GNI (PPP)
Internet:
Partly Free
Press:
Partly Free
Partly Free

News & Updates

Brutal attacks against bloggers, politically motivated surveillance, proactive manipulation of web content, and restrictive laws regulating speech online are among the diverse threats to internet freedom emerging over the past two years, according to a new study released today by Freedom House.

Freedom House today released a statement regarding the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

The capability of repressive governments to monitor users of mobile phones and block access to internet content is far beyond levels realized by users and presents significant risks for user privacy and safety, according to a new report released today by Freedom House and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). This is a serious problem in countries that lack the rule of law and where civil liberties are not respected.

The passage in Libya of new legislation restricting free speech, as well as recent attacks on journalists, raises concerns about the potential for backsliding in a country that made one of the biggest jumps in press freedom in the 32-year history of Freedom House’s annual survey Freedom of the Press.

Experts

Director of Middle East and North Africa Programs


Signature Reports

Special Reports

Worst of the Worst 2011: The World's Most Repressive Societies

Freedom House has prepared this special report entitled Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies, as a companion to its annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. The special report provides summary country reports, tables, and graphical information on the countries that receive the lowest combined ratings for political rights and civil liberties in Freedom in the World, and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations.

Worst of the Worst 2007

Sudan, North Korea and Uzbekistan are prominent among the most repressive regimes in the world, according to a report released by Freedom House.  The study, “The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2007,” named seventeen countries with the worst records for political rights and civil liberties, and pointed to thirteen countries which have been on the list for five years or more.

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