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Free speech. 2020 World Press Freedom Rankings Essay.

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Free speech remains an important topic all over the world. As part of free speech, we must consider the freedom of press and internet access as part the discussion. Every country approaches these rights differently: some are strict and control every aspect of free speech, while others are lenient and allow the people to say what they like. Access to the Internet is important not just for free speech, but also access to knowledge, health care, economic development, social connections and more. This assignment will cover both free speech and internet access:

Part 1:
2020 World Press Freedom Rankings(https://rsf(dot)org/en/ranking
The link above is the world press freedom ranking, which ranks countries and how free their press is. Use the link to answer the following questions:
Question 1: Not including the United States, select six countries from the website, one from each of the following continents (Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, South America). If you want to check if a country you picked is in a specific continent, refer to this Wikipedia list of countries in each continent. (https://simple(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_continents )Remember that many island nations and Central American countries are included in North America besides Canada and Mexico! List the six countries you selected, along with their current ranking on the website.
Question 2: List the key points in each of the six countries you selected. For each country, do you think it is generally supportive of free speech? Is there anything particularly concerning to you?
Question 3: Now look at the United States. (https://rsf(dot)org/en/united-states )What are the key points listed on the website?
Question 4: Use the link on the United States page to view the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Read through the front page (equipment damages, journalists killed, etc.) What is your opinion on the statistics and map listed on the website?

Part 2: Internet access
Individuals using the Internet - World Bank(https://data(dot)worldbank(dot)org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS
The link above provides percentages on how many citizens in a country have access to the internet.
Use the six countries you selected from part one for the following questions:
Question 5: List the internet access percentage for the six countries. Find the population of each country, and determine how many citizens do NOT have access to internet.
Question 6: Do any of the numbers surprise you? Why or why not?
Question 7: Look at the United States percentage and list the number. Is the number higher or lower than you expected?
Question 8: Sort the data on the website by "most recent value" from highest value (100 percent) to lowest value. How many countries have a higher percentage of Internet access than the United States?

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Free Speech
Part 1: 2020 World Press Freedom Rankings
Question 1
For this work, the six selected countries from different continents include Kenya (Africa), China (Asia), New Zealand (Australia/Oceania), Belgium (Europe), Mexico (North America), and Argentina (South America). They have varying world press freedom indices. According to RSF’s 2020 report, they rank 103rd, 177th, 9th, 12th, 143rd, and 64th, respectively.
Question 2
Kenya has had an interesting case, especially relating to campaign periods during which media are attacked by state organs, politicians and the public. During such times, some media houses have been confiscated, hindering freedom of speech. Based on these issues, I think the country is unsupportive of free speech, as seen in the signing of the restrictive Security Laws Amendment Act of 2014. Chinese government’s social model aims at controlling information and news and watches citizens’ online communications. Here, the Communist Party controls the private and state-owned media, while foreign-based media face myriad of challenges working in China. New Zealand is relatively supportive of free speech, as seen in media independence and pluralism. However, these two aspects are mainly affected by profit inclination, which is said to have impacted editorial integrity.
While Belgium’s press index ranks 12th, it has comparatively deteriorated following recent protests by a renowned broadcaster’s cost cuts. Scandals involving media house owners have seen some reporters also dismissed, sparking outcries. Regarding Mexico, the report claims that the collusion between systemic crimes and officials has significantly curtailed the country’s judicial system and its media, which affects free speech as most people seek asylum abroad. Argentina’s major problem is the evident polarization between private and state-owned media. Overall, my primary concern is the lack of governments' commitment to promoting free speech despite most constitutions indicating that freedom is an inalienable and fundamental right.
Question 3
The United States’ scenario presents a unique case, especially with the inclination of increased problems following a new presidential administration. Notably, the third year of Trump administration (the federal government) is said to have shown no interest in advocating for press freedom domestically and internationally...
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