Authoritarian governments are increasingly turning the internet into an instrument of control, restricting access, silencing dissent and weaponising digital regulations. As AI reshapes the online landscape, the challenge is no longer merely securing the internet, but safeguarding its fundamental promise: freedom of expression, access to information and an open digital society.
By Narendra Chalasani
For years, some of the world’s most authoritarian governments have sought to isolate their populations from the global internet. This phenomenon, commonly described as internet fragmentation, has gathered momentum as governments increasingly impose restrictions on online access and attempt to prevent citizens from circumventing them.
Governments across the ideological spectrum are erecting new barriers to the ways in which people access information, express themselves and participate in the digital world. As a result, the very nature of the internet is undergoing a profound transformation.
Policymakers are increasingly adopting restrictive approaches to address the challenges posed by AI-generated content. While their interventions are intended to tackle genuine concerns, in some countries they have gone beyond reasonable limits, raising serious questions about the future of online freedom.
Governments have introduced measures to address issues such as AI-generated impersonation, online harassment and child safety. Although these narrowly framed regulatory initiatives seek to resolve specific policy concerns, they have also created opportunities for authorities to misuse legislation and curb legitimate online expression.
Policymakers must recognise that protecting people from digital harm should not come at the expense of freedom of expression.
According to Freedom House’s latest report, Freedom on the Net 2026, internet freedom has declined for the sixteenth consecutive year. Of the 38 countries assessed, conditions deteriorated in 16, while improvements were recorded in only eight.
Authoritarian governments are intensifying their efforts to disconnect citizens from the global internet. At the same time, expanding age restrictions on online access and weaponising laws intended to regulate AI-generated content are creating fresh obstacles to freedom of expression and access to information.
“Agentic AI promises to transform the internet,” observed Jamie Fly, Chief Executive Officer of Freedom House.
He cautioned that authoritarian powers were already weaponising artificial intelligence. To counter these threats and accelerate the advancement of freedom in repressive societies, it was essential to ensure that activists and defenders of freedom had access to cutting-edge technologies. Democratic governments, he emphasised, must ensure that efforts to protect democracy and fundamental rights in the age of AI do not end up restricting legitimate freedom of expression.
Extensive internet shutdowns in countries such as Iran and Russia, government-backed alternatives to censored platforms, and restrictions on commercial virtual private networks (VPNs) indicate an increasingly aggressive strategy of digital isolationism.
Iranian authorities have long resorted to repressive internet shutdowns. This year, however, the country moved towards restructuring its internet into a two-tier system. While the majority of citizens were effectively cut off from the global internet, a privileged minority continued to enjoy unrestricted connectivity.
This tiered internet system has enabled Iranian authorities to tighten their grip on online information during successive crises, while also catering to the needs of the country’s elite, who continue to enjoy the benefits of global internet access.
Iran joined China and Myanmar, countries that already have some of the world’s most restrictive online environments. Jordan and Nigeria also witnessed significant declines in internet freedom.
Georgia, meanwhile, lost its status as a ‘Free’ country and was downgraded to ‘Partly Free’. This followed continued efforts by authorities to suppress online activism and freedom of expression, particularly where such activities were perceived as critical of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Bangladesh recorded the largest improvement for the second consecutive year, followed by The Gambia. Estonia retained its position as the country with the freest online environment.
Authoritarian governments have accelerated their efforts to separate their populations from the global internet. Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown lasting approximately 88 days, one of the longest such disruptions recorded in the history of Freedom on the Net. The country’s internet infrastructure was reconfigured to ensure that only a privileged few could access global platforms.
Russian authorities, meanwhile, expanded internet shutdowns and restrictions on virtual private networks, while attempting to ensure continued access to government-approved services.
The Growing Threat of Digital Restrictions
By June 2026, policymakers in 10 of the 38 countries assessed had proposed, enacted or implemented age-verification laws covering social media platforms and other online content. Australia and Indonesia introduced restrictions prohibiting children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Turkey’s proposed approach, however, goes further by linking social media accounts to individuals’ real identities through a government-operated digital identification system.
Measures intended to address AI-generated content have also raised concerns about censorship, even as they seek to tackle genuine forms of harm. Governments have introduced regulations concerning impersonation, harassment and child protection. Yet authorities continue to misuse certain laws to restrict legitimate online expression.
According to Kian Vesteinsson, the report’s author and Deputy Director of Research at Freedom House, authoritarian regimes are reshaping the internet into an instrument of control, determining who can connect, what people can see and whether their voices can be heard.
Dictators are investing in disconnecting people. We must invest in defeating censorship, he argues.
Safeguarding the Future of an Open Internet
Internet service providers must publicly disclose shutdown orders they receive. They should also be required to challenge directives that are unreasonable or unlawful.
The US Government should provide robust funding to the Open Technology Fund, which supports the development of anti-censorship tools specifically designed for journalists and human rights defenders working in high-risk environments around the world.
Satellite connectivity must be expanded and digital security strengthened. Governments should advocate for emergency satellite internet connectivity at the International Telecommunication Union’s World Radiocommunication Conference scheduled for 2027.
Donors should continue supporting digital security training programmes and rapid-response assistance helplines for journalists and human rights defenders operating in particularly vulnerable environments.
Investment in technological research is also essential to develop age-verification methods that genuinely protect privacy while reducing cybersecurity risks.
Policymakers must strengthen child-specific safeguards within privacy legislation and allocate additional resources to address online child abuse.
The future of the internet must not be determined solely by governments seeking greater control over their citizens. It must remain a space where people can access information, exchange ideas and express themselves freely.
The challenge before the international community is to strike a balance between legitimate digital safeguards and the fundamental freedoms that underpin an open and democratic society.
An internet that is secure but not free cannot fulfil its promise. Protecting digital rights must remain central to every effort to shape its future.
