Global Internet Freedom Rankings: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan Far Ahead of Eurasian Neighbors
The 2026 Global Internet Freedom Rankings, published this week by the research agency Cloudwards, have revealed that the five countries of Central Asia have significantly less internet censorship than all of their Eurasian neighbors. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan’s online environments emerge as particularly encouraging cases...
The only Eurasian country to rival Tajikistan is its northern neighbor Kyrgyzstan, which has the second freest internet in Central Asia, scoring 52 in Cloudwards’ ranking. For comparison, 52 is also the overall score given to the United Kingdom and Brazil...
The authors of the Cloudwards report, British editors Kit Copson and Sandra Pattison, commented: “The reasons behind online censorship range from protecting people targeted by hate speech to quelling political dissent. In especially restrictive locations, censorship and internet monitoring are tools commonly to control narratives.”
They added: “The consequences for breaching government-imposed censorship laws depend on the country. They could include fines or even arrest or imprisonment for those in highly restrictive locations.”
Can't read too much into these things, but a UK score of 52 seems to be the lowest European score. Expect it to be lower still next year. Zimbabwe is 48, so let's hope we don't fall that far.
All bets are off though.
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