Western Europe

Yesterday, the European Parliament endorsed a groundbreaking Digital Freedom Strategy, which recognizes that access to an open and uncensored internet is a key enabler of basic human rights, such as freedoms of expression and assembly.  Among many important measures, the strategy calls for a ban on exports of certain technologies—such as those that facilitate mass surveillance and censorship—to authoritarian regimes. Freedom House firmly supports the strategy and commends the European Parliament for seeking to incorporate this critical issue into European foreign policy.