Top 10 Most Censored Countries

According to the report prepared by the Journalism Protection Committee, we have compiled Top 10 Most Censored Countries where the press and the internet are most restricted.

When you look at the map you may not see much because we wanted to censor our map a little bit. You probably see that all of the countries are in Asia and Africa continents. But the small country Cuba in Americas is 10th on our list. The seven of the countries (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Iran, China, and Myanmar) also draws attention to the top 10 list of countries where most journalists are in prison.

Top 10 Most Censored Countries

10. Cuba

A group of people sitting on a curb along a sidewalk in a city setting, with buildings in the background and a cracked pavement in the foreground.
WiFi Spot in Havanna

People started to use mobile phones in Cuba started in 2008. Internet access wasn’t available in Cuba until 2016. However, in November of 2016, everything changed and the internet was provided to the houses. Furthermore, in Cuba where people cannot buy alcohol officially, the internet is only available in certain regions. In addition, people gathered in parks and selects Wi-Fi areas to make use of the internet. At the same time, security officers protect Wi-Fi areas. Wi-Fi is very expensive in Cuba, which is one of the least used countries in the world.

9. Myanmar

In Myanmar, freedom of speech and press is not guaranteed by law. Many colonial period laws governing the press and information continue to be used. People cannot access to websites offering pro-democracy groups and adult websites. In addition, 85% of email service provider sites are blocked.

8. China

The government censors, if it breaks the peace, break people’s morale, shakes the existing harmonies. The country is doing it so expertly that no one is uncomfortable except for very few people who are seriously pursuing the truth. They do not feel uncomfortable because they do not have news.

People cannot access social sharing sites like YouTube, facebook, twitter, Blogspot for a long time in China. In addition, China has censored not only social networking sites but also many foreign news sites. Furthermore, the Government banned many of the world’s leading news agencies such as The New York Times, The Guardian and BBC News from time to time in China. As the biggest reason for this ban, these news sites should make contradicting news to China’s understanding.

7. Iran

An image featuring the Facebook logo with a red diagonal line across it, indicating prohibition or restriction associated with the Facebook brand.
No Facebook

The government applies censorship in a variety of areas ranging from adult content to specific religious issues.

All written and visual media, radio broadcasts, cinema, art galleries, internet and social media, are the main topic of the agenda. Most of the written, audiovisual and electronic publications are subject to the preliminary control of the Islamic Irrigation and Culture Ministry. In addition, the Journalists Without Borders organization says that the press is under pressure at a worrisome level in Iran, and according to five separate assessments, it expresses that in terms of freedom of the press, Iran is one of the worst-case countries.

In the first decade of the 21st century, there has been a huge leap in Iran’s use of the Internet. Iran is the second country with more than 20 million internet users and the highest percentage of internet users in the Middle East compared to the population. Furthermore, Iranian society uses the internet as a way to penetrate Iran’s strict legislation on press-publication. However, in the past few years, the government instructed internet service providers to prevent internet users from accessing adult and anti-religious sites. Among that blocked access, there are also popular social communication sites like Facebook and Youtube.

6. Vietnam

According to the Constitution of Vietnam, the law provides freedom of speech and access to information, but in practice, it is not so.

In Vietnam, the government banned most of the content related to the activities of political opponents, the corruption of government officials, the lack of the Communist Party, anti-Chinese attitudes, human rights violations and any criticism of the state administration. In addition, the government is blocking foreign companies’ radio broadcasts.

There are three Internet service providers in Vietnam and they belong to the government and the military. These companies are mostly following subscriber access to their Web sites. In addition, the government prohibits accessing politically sensitive Web sites and creating a new website without permission.

5. Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani government has increased the control over the internet, disturbing social media activists, bloggers and contemporary journalists. He took journalists’ e-mail and telephone communications under control. Online slander has set legal norms that punish guilt, deterring social media mobility along with the arrest of bloggers and activists.

4. Ethiopia

Ethiopia is among the first African countries to censor the internet, to advocate human rights defenders, and to deny access to opposing blogs. The government banned access to social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber in Ethiopia many times. In addition, the Ethiopian press is under very strict control by the government. Therefore, people see social media as an alternative to reach critical information and different information from the local media.

3. Saudi Arabia

All kinds of books, magazines, newspapers, written and visual media, and internet access is subject to the agenda in Saudi Arabia.

In the year 2014 reports of Journalists Without Borders, the Saudi Arabian State is accused of “brutal censorship on the media and the internet”.

All internet traffic of Saudi Arabia is provided by the presenters at the King Abdulaziz Science and Technology Center. There is content filtering here. The government banned access to Wikipedia and Google Translate. The reason is that it has been shown that other prohibited Internet sites can be overcome by using the translation feature of these sites. Furthermore, in 2011, the Saudi Government required all online journalists and bloggers to obtain a license from the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Censorship on foreign media is usually focused on sexuality. As nudity and adult content are illegal; it is forbidden to broadcast naked male or female images that would call for anything defined as arm and leg image, hugging, kissing, homosexuality, adultery, etc., briefly immorality. In fact, even the use of vehicles by women, even the promotion, and promotion of driving lessons for women is prohibited.

2. North Korea

In North Korea, censorship has the most extreme control over communication among the countries of the world. The country routinely ranks lower in the World Press Freedom Index rankings published annually by Journalists Without Borders. From 2007, until 2016, North Korea was in second place, behind Eritrea, in about 180 countries. In addition, from 2002 to 2006, it ranked as the worst in the world.

People can only receive government-related issues from the radio. Taking radio or television broadcasts from outside North Korea is a serious offense. Furthermore, To become a journalist in North Korea, there is a single college graduation. The university dean and the administrators prepare the student, under the control of the ideological examination and strict background. The prepared journalist normally has a test period of 4 to 5 years. In North Korea, journalism as a business should ideologically and theoretically defend the party and party leader.

Internet access is not generally available in North Korea. Only some senior officials can access the global internet.

1. Eritrea

A black and white photo shows a man in a satirical military uniform, gesturing at a mic, with a backdrop of swastika-like symbols and uniformed people.
085007_1.tif. ** FILE **Legendary silent film actor/director Charlie Chaplin is shown in a scene from the 1940 film “The Great Dictator,” his first film with dialogue, in this promotional photo. Chaplin plays the dual roles of a sweet-natured Jewish barber and a murderous Hitler-type dictator. Four of Chaplin’s films “The Gold Rush,” “The Great Dictator,” “Modern Times,” and “Limelight,” are being released on DVD July 1, 2003, from Warner Home Video, as the first in a series of ten titles included in “The Chaplin Collection.” (AP Photo/The Roy Export Company Establishment, HO)

Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world and the world’s least livable country in life indexes. After we’ve said these, it is not surprising that it is in the last place.

Eritrea is a dictatorial country. In Eritrea, the most censored country in the world, the Ministry of Communications supervises everything that will be published.

An Eritrean journalist said he was constantly writing about President Isaias Afewerki and that Afewerki was “under the constant spotlight”.