Freedom on the Net 2019: The Crisis of Social Media

La libertad de Internet en Venezuela continuó a deteriorar en este periodo. La conectividad se hizo más precaria y los proveedores de servicios bloquearon de forma intermitente sitios de noticias, medios independientes y plataformas digitales. Reporteros y usuarios han sufrido amenazas, ataques y detenciones arbitrarias. Se produjo una sofisticada campaña de phishing a un sitio web de la alianza de la oposición, lo cual aumentó las preocupaciones sobre la capacidad del gobierno para obtener y usar los datos personales de los ciudadanos como un medio de control social y político.

A medida que la crisis económica y política de Venezuela se ha ido profundizando, el régimen del presidente Maduro ha ido fortaleciendo las medidas de control y la represión en contra de la disidencia. Medidas dirigidas a fortalecer el gobierno, como la instalación de una nueva Asamblea Nacional Constituyente en agosto de 2017, han ido acompañadas de nuevas leyes que limitan la libertad de expresión y la privacidad. En enero de 2019 aumentaron las tensiones, luego de que el diputado Juan Guaidó, presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, asumiera el papel de presidente interino al desconocer las controvertidas elecciones presidenciales de 2018.

Freedom on the Net 2019 | The Crisis of Social Media

Internet freedom is increasingly imperiled by the tools and tactics of digital authoritarianism, which have spread rapidly around the globe. Repressive regimes, elected incumbents with authoritarian ambitions, and unscrupulous partisan operatives have exploited the unregulated spaces of social media platforms, converting them into instruments for political distortion and societal control. While social media have at times served as a level playing field for civic discussion, they are now tilting dangerously toward illiberalism, exposing citizens to an unprecedented crackdown on their fundamental freedoms. Moreover, a startling variety of governments are deploying advanced tools to identify and monitor users on an immense scale. As a result of these trends, global internet freedom declined for the ninth consecutive year in 2019.

Social media allow ordinary people, civic groups, and journalists to reach a vast audience at little or no cost, but they have also provided an extremely useful and inexpensive platform for malign influence operations by foreign and domestic actors alike. Political leaders employed individuals to surreptitiously shape online opinions in 38 of the 65 countries covered in this report—a new high. In many countries, the rise of populism and far-right extremism has coincided with the growth of hyperpartisan online mobs that include both authentic users and fraudulent or automated accounts. They build large audiences around similar interests, lace their political messaging with false or inflammatory content, and coordinate its dissemination across multiple platforms.