The latest “Freedom on the Net” figures released in an annual survey by Washington-based NGO Freedom House, Thailand received a scathing review.
The Thai newspaper “Sanook News” reported that Thailand received only 36 points out of 100 by many criteria, ranking the country among those without internet freedom.
Thailand’s rating has fallen three points since 2017 and there has been a “clear limit to internet freedom” since street protests began last year.
Online comments scrutinized, the use of the emergency decree, and scrutiny of the press all contributed to the low score.
But it could have been worse as neighboring Myanmar was named the third worst in the world with a score of 17, yet Thailand lags far behind neighboring countries such as Malaysia (58) and Singapore (54). The Philippines had a rating of 65.
Top in the world was Iceland with 96, followed by tech-savvy Estonia with 94.
As expected, China finished last with 10 points on the parameter.
Iran at 16 was the only other of the 70 countries rated under 20. Others included:
Australia 75
US 75
UK 78
France 78
Germany 79
Canada 87
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