Freedom house
According to the Freedom House NGO's report called, Freedom of the Net 2022, out of a total of 70 states or 89 percent of Internet users in the world, Serbia belongs in the category of a free country, yet one that faces challenges and one with a relatively low mark in the part of the report on disinformation.
With 71 points, Serbia is 17th on the list, four positions lower than the U.S. Serbia's score in this area is quite different from how it was rated by Freedom House in its analysis of the state of political rights and civil freedoms or even its implementation of democratic reforms the Voice of America reported on Oct. 20.
In these studies, published in 2022, Freedom House notes that Serbia has been piling up failures every year and is listed as a partially free country and hybrid regime. Grant Baker, a researcher and analyst of technology and democracy at the Washington NGO, explained for the Voice of America that Serbia was a free country but one that still faced challenges.
"One of the reasons that it has been designated free is the availability of the internet - compared with global trends. The authorities are not limiting access and rarely block internet pages. Internet users are sometimes jailed for their online activities. Rarely, however, do they face severe penalties. Disinformation definitely exists," Baker said, adding that there was still room for the functioning of independent media outlets and critical voices.
To get full access to all content of interest see our
Subscription offer
Or
Register for free
And read up to 5 articles each month.
Already have an account? Please Log in.