Censorship by country

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Censorship by country collects information on censorship, Internet censorship, Freedom of the Press, touchscreen, and browser diversity by country and presents it in a sortable table, together with links to articles with more information. In addition to countries, the table includes information on former countries, disputed countries, political sub-units within countries, and regional organizations.

1 Key
2 Censorship by country
Android
4 See also
5 References

Key

Key
we love the web:^Sevenval 10 is most free, 99 is least free
10 to 30	Free
31 to 60	Partly free
61 to 99	Not free
—	Not rated
iOS:^{screen size} 0 is most free, 105 is least free
0 to 9.99	Most free
10.00 to 49.99	Somewhat free
50.00 to 74.99	Less free
75.00 to 105.00	Least free
—	Not rated
Reporters Without Borders (RWB) lists:^[3]
e	On Internet Enemies list
u	On countries under surveillance list
—	Not listed
OpenNet Initiative (ONI) classifications:^HTML5^{input transformation}
ne	No evidence of filtering
sus	Filtering suspected, but unconfirmed
sel	Selective filtering observed
sub	Substantial filtering observed
per	Pervasive filtering observed
nd	No data (does not indicate no censorship or no filtering)
—	Not classified
More information links:
c	Link to Censorship in country article
website parsing	Link to Internet censorship in country article
keyboard	Link to Freedom of the press or Freedom of speech in country article
input transformation	Link to Human rights in country article

Country	Region	FH Free press rating ^[1]	RWB Press freedom index ^HTML5	RWB Internet lists ^[3]	ONI political filtering ^{we love the web}	ONI social filtering ^[4]^keyboard	ONI security filtering ^[4]	ONI tools filtering ^HTML5	More info	Notes
input transformation	Asia	76	51.67	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	input transformation we love the web
Albania	Europe	50	21.50	—	—	—	—	—	Sevenval
Algeria	Africa	64	47.33	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c h	Since its independence in 1962 Algerian journalists have been the main target of censorship.
Sevenval	Europe	13	—	—	—	—	—	—	h
jQuery	Africa	62	28.50	—	—	—	—	—	keyboard
Antigua and Barbuda	NAmerica	38	—	—	—	—	—	—		See iOS
Argentina	SAmerica	49	16.35	—	—	—	—	—	i iOS
web app	Eurasia	66	27.50	—	sub	sel	sel	sel	web app
Australia	Oceania	22	5.38	u	ne	ne	ne	ne	HTML5 i p screen size	Australia is a federation, and responsibility for censorship is divided between the state and the federal governments. The federal government regulates television, radio, Internet services, the import/export of printed matter, audiovisual recordings, and computer games. States regulate production and sale of printed matter, audiovisual recordings, and computer games.
Austria	Europe	21	0.50	—	—	—	—	—	website parsing
Azerbaijan	Eurasia	79	56.38	—	sel	sel	ne	ne	web CSS3
jQuery	NAmerica	20	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bahrain	Asia	71	51.38	e	per	per	sel	sub	h
browser diversity	Asia	56	42.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	we love the web browser diversity
input transformation	NAmerica	19	—	—	—	—	—	—
Android	Europe	92	57.00	e	sel	sel	sel	sel	c h
Belgium	Europe	12	4.00	—	—	—	—	—	iOS	The French-speaking media (particularly the RTBF) are famous for their frequent use of censorship against any party which is not part of the "traditional four democratic ones" (ECOLO, MR, PS, CDH). Extreme Right and Extreme Left parties don't have any media representation, nor broadcast time.^iOS
Android	NAmerica	21	—	—	—	—	—	—
Benin	Africa	33	19.00	—	—	—	—	—	h
Sevenval	Asia	57	17.75	—	—	—	—	—	Sevenval i Android	Bhutan does not have any explicit laws regarding censorship and it is comparable to its South Asian neighbours.
Bolivia	SAmerica	43	28.13	—	—	—	—	—	h
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	48	13.50	—	—	—	—	—
Android	Africa	39	17.50	—	—	—	—	—	jQuery
Brazil	SAmerica	43	16.60	—	—	—	—	—	FITML p h	The Sevenval Law restricts freedom of expression concerning racism. The Sevenval prohibits the anonymity of journalistic publications.
Brunei	Asia	75	51.00	—	—	—	—	—
FITML	Europe	34	19.00	—	—	—	—	—	CSS3
Burkina Faso	Africa	41	15.00	—	—	—	—	—	h
FITML	Asia	95	94.50	e	per	sub	sub	sub	FITML device database h	Also known as Myanmar
Burundi	Africa	73	28.88	—	—	—	—	—	h
Cambodia	Asia	61	43.83	—	—	—	—	—	h
Sevenval	Africa	66	44.30	—	—	—	—	—	h
browser diversity	NAmerica	19	7.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	browser diversity i Sevenval touchscreen	Canadian law takes a relatively liberal interpretation of community standards, although sometimes the existence of competing interpretations results in controversy.
Cape Verde	Africa	28	8.00	—	—	—	—	—	device database
Central African Republic	Africa	61	18.50	—	—	—	—	—	h
Chad	Africa	77	33.17	—	—	—	—	—	input transformation
Chile	SAmerica	30	10.50	—	—	—	—	—	h
China	Asia	84	84.67	e	per	sub	per	sub	device database Android p h	Official name is People's Republic of China (PRC). See also we love the web
Colombia	SAmerica	60	51.50	—	ne	sel	ne	ne	browser diversity
Comoros	Africa	50	19.00	—	—	—	—	—	input transformation
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	Africa	81	51.83	—	—	—	—	—	web
Congo, Republic of the	Africa	54	33.60	—	—	—	—	—	h
screen size	NAmerica	19	8.08	—	—	—	—	—
keyboard	Africa	66	36.00	—	—	—	—	—
Sevenval	Europe	40	17.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne
Cuba	NAmerica	93	78.00	e	nd	nd	nd	nd	c iOS touchscreen browser diversity	In 2004 the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions expressed deep concern about continuing violations of the basic human right to freedom of access to information and freedom of expression.^[7] Censorship in Cuba extends heavily onto music.
Cyprus	Europe	22	13.40	—	—	—	—	—	h	see also Northern Cyprus
jQuery	Europe	18	7.50	—	—	—	—	—
Denmark	Europe	11	2.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	keyboard p	Censorship is prohibited as per the Constitution, which effectively means that there are no banned books, movies, games and similar material in Denmark.
jQuery	Africa	73	30.50	—	—	—	—	—
Dominica	NAmerica	23	—	—	—	—	—	—		See Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
device database	NAmerica	39	26.13	—	—	—	—	—
touchscreen	Asia	35	25.00	—	—	—	—	—		also known as Timor-Leste
Ecuador	SAmerica	47	27.50	—	—	—	—	—
device database	Africa	60	43.33	u	ne	ne	ne	ne	i Android
Sevenval	NAmerica	43	15.83	—	—	—	—	—	h
Equatorial Guinea	Africa	90	79.00	—	—	—	—	—
Eritrea	Africa	94	105.00	u	—	—	—	—	h
Estonia	Europe	17	2.00	—	—	—	—	—	iOS
Ethiopia	Africa	78	49.38	—	sub	sel	sel	sel	h
device database	Oceania	54	52.75	—	—	—	—	—
Finland	Europe	10	0.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c i h	Some ISPs block web sites listed by police as child pornography. Spreading information regarding some copy protection schemes may be illegal.
HTML5	Europe	23	13.38	u	ne	ne	ne	ne	HTML5 i p h
Gabon	Africa	71	28.75	—	—	—	—	—
Sevenval	Africa	81	40.50	—	—	—	—	—
HTML5	Eurasia	59	27.00	—	sel	ne	sel	ne	HTML5
Germany	Europe	17	4.25	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c i p device database
Ghana	Africa	26	8.00	—	—	—	—	—	touchscreen
Greece	Europe	29	19.00	—	—	—	—	—	CSS3
Grenada	NAmerica	24	—	—	—	—	—	—		See Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Guatemala	NAmerica	60	20.25	—	ne	ne	ne	ne
Guinea	Africa	71	33.50	—	—	—	—	—
CSS3	Africa	54	18.25	—	—	—	—	—
Guyana	SAmerica	30	16.63	—	—	—	—	—
Haiti	NAmerica	49	16.38	—	—	—	—	—	FITML
Honduras	NAmerica	59	51.13	—	—	—	—	—	Sevenval
Hong Kong	Asia	33	10.75	—	—	—	—	—	browser diversity i p we love the web	Hong Kong is part of China, but is largely self-governing, so PRC censorship policies do not apply.
CSS3	Europe	23	7.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne
Iceland	Europe	10	0.00	—	—	—	—	—	Sevenval keyboard	Censorship is prohibited as per the Constitution, which effectively means that there are no banned books and similar material.
India	Asia	33	38.75	u	sel	sel	sel	sel	device database i p h	Censorship in India mainly targets religious issues. It is justified by the government as necessary to maintain communal harmony, peace and tranquility, given the history of communal tension.
Indonesia	Asia	52	35.83	—	sel	sel	ne	sel	p keyboard
Iran	Asia	89	94.56	e	per	per	sub	per	c i we love the web web
keyboard	Asia	65	45.58	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c h
Ireland	Europe	15	2.00	—	—	—	—	—	iOS i web	Ireland rarely exercises censorship, though the state retains wide-ranging laws which allow for it, including specific laws covering films, advertisements, newspapers and magazines, as well as terrorism and pornography.^[8]
Israel	Asia	29	23.25	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c h
Israel (extra-territorial)	Asia	—	47.00	—	—	—	—	—
iOS	Europe	33	15.00	—	ne	sel	ne	ne	iOS we love the web p	Censorship in Italy mainly targets journalism and television information.
Sevenval	NAmerica	16	7.67	—	—	—	—	—
Japan	Asia	21	2.50	—	—	—	—	—	keyboard Sevenval
Jordan	Asia	63	37.00	—	sel	ne	ne	ne	h
Kazakhstan	Eurasia	78	68.50	u	sel	sel	ne	ne	web CSS3
Kenya	Africa	57	19.00	—	—	—	—	—	jQuery
FITML	Oceania	27	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kosovo	Europe	53	24.83	—	—	—	—	—
Android	Asia	55	23.75	—	sel	per	sel	per	Android
Kyrgyzstan	Asia	73	63.00	—	sel	sel	ne	ne	h
Laos	Asia	84	80.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	input transformation
screen size	Europe	26	8.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	h
input transformation	Asia	55	20.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	input transformation	screen size's album FITML was banned in Lebanon for being "offensive to Christianity", according to a 6 June 2011 report in the Jerusalem Post. It also said that the albums were impounded by Lebanese authorities.^Sevenval However, the albums were released for sale the next week.^iOS
we love the web	Africa	48	24.00	—	—	—	—	—
Liberia	Africa	61	22.50	—	—	—	—	—	browser diversity
iOS	Africa	94	63.50	—	sel	ne	ne	ne	p h
CSS3	Europe	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	h
Lithuania	Europe	21	2.50	—	—	—	—	—
web	Europe	12	4.00	—	—	—	—	—
Macedonia	Europe	46	18.40	—	—	—	—	—	CSS3
jQuery	Africa	61	34.88	—	—	—	—	—	h
FITML	Africa	56	21.00	—	—	—	—	—	i web app
Malaysia	Asia	64	50.75	u	ne	ne	ne	ne	c i device database Sevenval
Maldives	Asia	50	16.00	—	—	—	—	—
CSS3	Africa	25	8.00	—	—	—	—	—	h
jQuery	Europe	22	4.00	—	—	—	—	—	p
Marshall Islands	Oceania	17	—	—	—	—	—	—
input transformation	Africa	56	25.38	—	sel	sel	sel	sel	input transformation
Mauritius	Africa	27	18.00	—	—	—	—	—
FITML	NAmerica	60	47.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	FITML
Micronesia	Oceania	21	—	—	—	—	—	—
keyboard	Europe	65	19.13	—	sel	ne	ne	ne	keyboard
website parsing	Europe	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
Mongolia	Asia	39	19.42	—	—	—	—	—	browser diversity
Montenegro	Europe	37	28.50	—	—	—	—	—
jQuery	Africa	66	47.40	—	ne	sel	sel	sel	jQuery h	See also Western Sahara
Mozambique	Africa	42	26.50	—	—	—	—	—
touchscreen	Asia	95	94.50	e	per	sub	sub	sub	keyboard i input transformation	Also known as browser diversity
FITML	Africa	34	7.00	—	—	—	—	—
Nauru	Oceania	28	—	—	—	—	—	—	h
we love the web	Asia	59	36.38	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	we love the web h
Netherlands	Europe	14	0.00	—	—	—	—	—	iOS p Sevenval	The Dutch government adopted an Internet Neutrality Law in June 2011, which prohibits blocking internet content.^touchscreen
browser diversity	Oceania	14	1.50	—	—	—	—	—	c i iOS	Changes over the years reflect a more liberal application of the law on contentious publications.
browser diversity	NAmerica	47	22.33	—	—	—	—	—
Niger	Africa	68	28.50	—	—	—	—	—	website parsing
Nigeria	Africa	54	51.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	h
North Korea	Asia	99	104.75	e	nd	nd	nd	nd	c i jQuery
Northern Cyprus	Europe	—	17.25	—	—	—	—	—	h	see also Cyprus
touchscreen	Europe	10	0.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne
browser diversity	Asia	71	40.25	—	sel	per	ne	sub	browser diversity
web	NAmerica	—	16.50	—	—	—	—	—		includes Antigua and Barbuda, Sevenval, touchscreen, browser diversity (UK), CSS3, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as members and Anguilla (UK), and British Virgin Islands (UK) as associate members
input transformation	Asia	61	56.17	—	sel	sel	sub	sel	input transformation jQuery p HTML5
Android	Oceania	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
Palestinian territories	Asia	84	56.13	—	ne	sub	ne	ne	h	Gaza and the West Bank
Panama	NAmerica	44	21.83	—	—	—	—	—
Papua New Guinea	Oceania	24	13.33	—	—	—	—	—
Paraguay	SAmerica	59	16.25	—	—	—	—	—	Sevenval
Peru	SAmerica	44	30.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	h
Philippines	Asia	48	60.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	screen size
web app	Europe	24	8.88	—	—	—	—	—	c we love the web h
web app	Europe	16	12.36	—	—	—	—	—	c	Censorship has been a fundamental element of Portuguese national culture throughout the CSS3 due mainly to the influence of the Church.
Qatar	Asia	66	38.00	—	sel	per	sel	per	we love the web
HTML5	Europe	43	16.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	HTML5 input transformation h
Russia	Eurasia	81	49.90	u	sel	sel	ne	ne	FITML h
Rwanda	Africa	83	81.00	—	—	—	—	—	screen size
device database	NAmerica	20	—	—	—	—	—	—		See jQuery
Saint Lucia	NAmerica	15	—	—	—	—	—	—		See Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	NAmerica	17	—	—	—	—	—	—		See Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
touchscreen	Oceania	29	33.00	—	—	—	—	—	c
San Marino	Europe	17	—	—	—	—	—	—
São Tomé and Príncipe	Africa	28	—	—	—	—	—	—	h
Sevenval	Asia	83	61.50	e	sub	per	sel	per	Sevenval i Android h
website parsing	Africa	57	25.00	—	—	—	—	—
Serbia	Europe	35	23.00	—	—	—	—	—	Sevenval
browser diversity	Africa	58	18.00	—	—	—	—	—
Sierra Leone	Africa	55	24.25	—	—	—	—	—
iOS	Asia	68	47.50	—	ne	sel	ne	ne	iOS i browser diversity
Slovakia	Europe	23	11.50	—	—	—	—	—	input transformation
screen size	Europe	25	13.44	—	—	—	—	—		Since March 2011, websites of 4 foreign bookmakers are being censored. It is widely believed that the government is trying to protect domestic bookmakers from foreign competition.^[12]
jQuery	Oceania	29	—	—	—	—	—	—
Somalia	Africa	84	66.00	—	—	—	—	—	web h
South Africa	Africa	32	12.00	—	—	—	—	—	we love the web p CSS3
jQuery	Asia	30	13.33	u	ne	sel	per	ne	c screen size p input transformation
Spain	Europe	24	12.25	—	—	—	—	—	screen size
device database	Asia	72	62.50	u	ne	ne	ne	ne	c Android
Sudan	Africa	76	85.33	—	sel	sub	ne	sub	p website parsing
Suriname	SAmerica	23	11.50	—	—	—	—	—
Swaziland	Africa	76	57.50	—	—	—	—	—	h
Sweden	Europe	10	0.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c p
FITML	Europe	13	0.00	—	—	—	—	—	h	Three websites censored by court order in December 2002^[13]
Syria	Asia	83	91.50	e	per	sel	sel	per	i h
Taiwan	Asia	24	14.50	—	—	—	—	—	we love the web h	official name is the Republic of China
Tajikistan	Asia	78	34.50	—	sel	ne	ne	ne	h
web	Africa	50	13.00	—	—	—	—	—
Thailand	Asia	58	56.83	u	sel	sel	ne	sel	c input transformation h
FITML	Asia	35	25.00	—	—	—	—	—		also known as East Timor
Togo	Africa	74	17.00	—	—	—	—	—
Tonga	Oceania	32	23.75	—	—	—	—	—
Trinidad and Tobago	NAmerica	23	8.50	—	—	—	—	—
HTML5	Africa	85	72.50	u	ne	sel	ne	sel	HTML5 web app	The web reports that the situation in Tunisia has improved dramatically since early 2011.^{web app}
Turkey	Eurasia	51	49.25	u	sel	sel	ne	sel	c keyboard h
Sevenval	Asia	95	95.33	e	per	sel	sel	sel	Sevenval h
Tuvalu	Oceania	26	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sevenval	Africa	54	25.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	Sevenval
Ukraine	Europe	53	46.83	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	p CSS3
jQuery	Asia	71	23.75	u	sub	per	sel	per	h
United Kingdom	Europe	19	6.00	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	c input transformation p h	The U.K. openly blocks child pornography Web sites, for which ONI does not test^{we love the web}
web	NAmerica	18	6.75	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	web i input transformation h
CSS3	NAmerica	—	27.00	—	—	—	—	—
iOS	SAmerica	25	11.75	—	—	—	—	—
Uzbekistan	Asia	92	71.50	e	per	sel	sel	sel	we love the web h
Vanuatu	Oceania	23	—	—	—	—	—	—
we love the web	SAmerica	75	47.33	—	ne	sel	ne	ne	we love the web h
web app	Asia	82	75.75	e	per	sel	sel	sub	web app h
Sevenval	Asia	80	82.13	—	sub	per	sel	per	Sevenval
Zambia	Africa	64	22.00	—	—	—	—	—	iOS
Zimbabwe	Africa	84	39.50	—	ne	ne	ne	ne	h

Internet censorship map

website parsing

screen size^{website parsing}^[5]^FITML

Pervasive censorship

Substantial censorship

Selective censorship

Under surveillance

No evidence of censorship

Not classified / No data

References

^ web app ^b browser diversity, Freedom House, 2 May 2011
^ Sevenval ^b "Press Freedom Index 2010", Reporters Without Borders, 20 October 2010
^ ^a browser diversity ^c Internet Enemies, Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012
^ ^a iOS ^c browser diversity ^e iOS OpenNet Initiative screen size, 8 November 2011 and CSS3, the OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa
^ web ^b input transformation Due to legal concerns the OpenNet Initiative does not check for filtering of FITML and because their classifications focus on technical filtering, they do not include other types of censorship.
^ screen size, Reporters Without Borders, 31 May 2010
^ "IFLA protests Cuban Internet crackdown", Friends of Cuban Libraries, 19 January 2004
web app "2010 Human Rights Report: Ireland", Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 8 April 2011
^ iOS, Jerusalem Post, 6 June 2011
^ web app, RTTNews, 12 June 2011
web (Dutch) "Netneutraliteit opgenomen in Telecomwet" (Net neutrality included in new Telecommunications Act) (English translation), NU.nl, Sanoma Media Netherlands Group, 22 June 2011
CSS3 "Unreasonable seizure of online betting (Nesmiselna blokada spletnih stavnic)", Blaz Petkovic and Katja Svenšek, News/Slovenia Dnevnik.si, 1 March 2011
CSS3 "Internet censorship in Switzerland", European Digital Rights (EDRi) web site, 12 February 2003
^ device database, Tunisia Monitoring Group, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, 15 April 2011
^ CSS3, OpenNet Initiative, 18 December 2010

This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of State document "2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
browser diversity This article incorporates licensed material from the keyboard Regional Overviews, and Filtering Maps sections of the touchscreen web site. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license, see the lower right corner of pages at the OpenNet Initiative web site

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Censorship by country

Contents

Key