Practice: government doesn't block (or ask ICT firms to block) online content

QoG code: aii_q57

Sub-score (0-100). Question no. 57. In practice, the government does not block (or require ICT firms to block) online content.

A 100 score is earned where all the following conditions are met:
1) there is no evidence that politically sensitive websites, keywords, search results or content are filtered, blocked or taken down, and
2) Web users in the country are able to access any website in the world without restriction. A 100 score can still be earned if child pornography or delinquent intellectual property websites have been taken down.

A 50 score is earned where any of the following conditions apply:
1) a small number of sites, keywords or search results on a specific issue are blocked (blocking cannot include widely used Internet tools such as Skype, Google, YouTube, or Facebook/Twitter), or
2) citizens are occasionally unable to access certain websites (national or international).

A 0 score is earned where at least one of the following conditions apply:
1) politically sensitive websites, keywords, search results or content are usually filtered, blocked or taken down, or
2) Web users in the country are usually unable to access many websites without restriction, including widely used Internet tools such as Skype, Google, YouTube, or Facebook/Twitter.

Type of variable
Continuous
Downloaded by QoG on
2025-09-25
Last updated by source
2024-05-28
Details of this variable in our compilation datasets
Dataset No. Countries
Standard time-series 53
Dataset Available for years
Standard time-series 2013-2017

Country coverage

Click here to see the full list of countries
  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Benin
  • Botswana
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Cape Verde
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Congo
  • Congo, Democratic Republic
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini (former Swaziland)
  • Ethiopia (1993-)
  • Gabon
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Rwanda
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Tanzania
  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Year coverage

This variable has information from 2013 to 2017.