Every year, Reporters Without Borders publishes a list of “Enemies of the Internet,”designed to draw attention to countries that disrupt the freedom of information with propaganda, surveillance, and censorship. For the very first time, that list now includes the United States of America. It’s perhaps not surprising that the US would make the cut, given the revelations that Edward Snowden has provided over the past year.
‘Enemies of the Internet’ is a list published every year by Reporters Without Borders, an organization that campaigns for a free press and an uncensored Internet. This year, the United States has made the list for the first time, alongside countries such as China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Iran. The United Kingdom, Russia and India have also been added for the first time in the 2014 list. In its assessment, Reporters Without Borders points to the NSA revelations leaked by Edward Snowden as evidence that “the country of the First Amendment has undermined confidence in the Internet and its own standards of security.”