Internet freedom in the Philippines

published by asingh on Sat, 10/12/2013 - 13:25

The Philippines ranked 11th in terms of internet freedom, according to a group’s global assessment of internet freedom for 2013.

Freedom House’s “Freedom on the Net 2013” gave the Philippines a “free” freedom-on-the-net status and a score of 25, though it fell slightly from last year’s 23.

Iceland topped the list with a freedom score of 6, with Estonia second with 9. Germany and the United States were tied with 17.

Australia (18), France (20), Japan (22), Hungary and Italy (23 each) and United Kingdom (24) rounded out the top 10.

In Asia, the Philippines ranked second to Japan as the most free in the region. Japan had a score of 22.

In its profile on the Philippines, Freedom House said the Philippines had an internet penetration in 2012 of 36 percent, though no apps or social content was blocked.

However, it noted the Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, now suspended by the Supreme Court, allows authorities to block online content without a warrant.

It also facilitates government surveillance and punishes online libel with up to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Also, it said eight bills had been filed in the Senate seeking regulation of online child pornography, gambling and phishing, “which could add to overbroad restrictions on cybercrime.”

The 2011 Data for Philippine Internet Usage states;

29.7M out of 101.8M people in the Philippines access the internet

Each user spends 18.6 hours per month on the Internet

23.4M Facebook users (#3 in Asia, #7 Globally)

4.01M Twitter users (#8 Globally)

92.2M Mobile users (80% of total population)

Mobile market top OS: #1 Symbian, #2 Apple iOS, #3 Android

Internet access via Mobile (5%), Home (31%), Cafes (69%)

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