In October 2024, Freedom House released the report Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online, according to which global internet freedom declined for the 14th consecutive year as conditions deteriorated in 27 countries. The report found that Internet freedom also declined in Georgia by 2 points compared to 2023, but the country still ranks Free. In 2024, Georgia obtained a score of 74 out of 100.
The report highlighted several key developments and major reasons for score decline for Georgia:
- The October 2023 amendments to the Law on Broadcasting granted the Communications Commission (ComCom), the telecommunications regulator, expanded authority to regulate content involving hate speech, incitement to terrorism, and obscenity. Under these changes, ComCom, rather than self-regulatory bodies, now has the final say in determining what constitutes such content. Moreover, neither ComCom, internet service providers (ISPs), nor other state bodies proactively release statistical data on website blocking. These observations were made based on IDFI’s report on Blocked Websites in Georgia: Legal and Practical Analysis.
- The controversial Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence (so-called “Foreign Agents” law), passed in May 2024, requires civil society organizations (CSOs) and media outlets, including those operating online, to register as an organization pursuing the interests of a foreign country if they receive more than 20 percent of their annual revenue from foreign donors. These entities must also submit annual financial declarations and provide sensitive data to the Ministry of Justice upon request.
- In response to widespread protests against the so-called “Foreign Agents” law, activists who opposed it experienced online intimidation. In one instance, activists reported that two Telegram channels linked to pro-government media figures shared the personal information—including mobile numbers and home addresses—of dozens of individuals involved in the protests.
- In May 2024, the international hacking group Anonymous briefly took down the websites of government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a pro-government outlet.
According to the report, Georgian citizens face some infrastructural obstacles to accessing the internet, however, internet access grows gradually. Based on the data of the National Statistics Office, about 91.5 percent of households enjoyed access to the internet. However, there is a digital divide between big cities and rural areas, as well as age groups. Another challenge is the quality and speed of internet service. Testing performed by the company Ookla in May 2024 demonstrated that the median download speed for a fixed internet connection was 26.71 megabits per second (Mbps). Meanwhile, the median download speed for a mobile internet connection stood at 39.83 Mbps.
The Freedom House report also touches upon the issue of the distribution of internet users among several Internet service providers (ISPs). It is argued that the ICT market is dominated by a handful of large companies. Two private ISPs control more than three-fourths of the fixed broadband market, while the mobile Internet market is also dominated by three main providers. As a new development, since November 2023, Starlink internet services are available in Georgia.
The report states that Georgians generally enjoy freedom of expression online. However, a few cases of legal repercussions for online activities have raised concerns.
- In May 2024, military blogger Ucha Abashidze, who opposed the "foreign agents" law and called for protests online via Telegram, was arrested on charges of illegal weapon possession and unauthorized access to an information system. His supporters claim most of the weapons were airsoft guns or legally registered firearms. Later, his wife was also arrested for allegedly helping him illegally record intimate images, with both remaining in detention after a court hearing in July.
- In 2023, an individual was fined with 2,000-lari ($732) for cursing Tbilisi mayor and the police over traffic management in a TikTok video;
In terms of restrictions on the internet and digital content, the report highlights the October 2023 amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, which granted the Communications Commission, the telecommunications regulator, increased authority to oversee content related to hate speech, incitement to terrorism, and obscenity. These changes give ComCom, rather than self-regulatory bodies, the final say in determining what qualifies such content. The amendments faced criticism from local civil society organizations (CSOs) and media outlets. By the end of the coverage period, the amendments had yet to be implemented, as ComCom is expected to issue guidelines for their enforcement.
The report identifies the use of online content manipulation by pro-government and other domestic political actors, particularly during demonstrations, election campaigns, and political crises, as a significant challenge for the country. According to the report, this issue has worsened over the past two years, especially following the EU's refusal to grant Georgia candidate status in June 2022 and the departure of several deputies from the Georgian Dream (GD) parliamentary faction in October 2022. This trend intensified further during the protests against the "foreign agents" law, which was reintroduced by the GD-led government in early 2024 after being withdrawn amid massive demonstrations in March 2023. During the coverage period, Meta took down dozens of Facebook accounts, pages, groups, and Instagram accounts linked to the Strategic Communications Department of the Government Administration of Georgia, which used these inauthentic accounts and pages to disseminate a pro-government narrative and criticize the opposition. According to the report, the Georgian audience was also a target of Russian information campaigns criticizing those who protested the “foreign agents” law and were supportive of GD.
Online platforms, particularly Facebook and TikTok, are widely used to organize demonstrations and mobilize people around various issues. The report highlights, among other examples, the protests against the controversial "foreign agents" law. It also emphasizes a significant increase in online harassment and intimidation related to these protests. Many of those who organized or participated in the demonstrations received life-threatening and intimidating phone calls from unknown and foreign numbers. This has raised concerns that the personal data of hundreds of individuals may have been illegally accessed and processed by groups affiliated with the government.
During the coverage period, several cyberattacks were reported, highlighting a significant issue in Georgia in recent years. In May 2024, during the protests against the "foreign agents" law, the websites of several public institutions—including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the pro-government outlet POS TV, and the Georgian Dream (GD) party—were briefly taken down by Anonymous. Additionally, in January 2024, Russian hackers temporarily disabled the website of the presidential office, as well as those of media outlets Formula and Mtavari Arkhi.
In the context of digital rights, it is noted that although there are legal guarantees in this regard, the lack of independence of the judiciary is the main obstacle to the country's democratic consolidation.
Evaluation of each country includes a detailed narrative report and a numerical score based on three categories: an obstacle to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights. The 2024 report covers the period between June 2023 and May 2024.
The report found that Kyrgyzstan suffered the year’s worst score decline as president Sadyr Japarov intensified his efforts to silence digital media and suppress online organizing. People were physically attacked or killed in retaliation for their online activities in a record high of at least 43 countries. Voters in at least 25 of the 41 Freedom on the Net (FOTN) countries that held or prepared for nationwide elections during the coverage period contended with a censored information space. In at least 21 of the 41 countries, pro-government commentators manipulated online information, often stoking doubt about the integrity of the forthcoming results and seeding long-term mistrust in democratic institutions. China shared its designation as the world’s worst environment for internet freedom with Myanmar, where the military regime imposed a new censorship system that ratcheted up restrictions on virtual private networks (VPNs).
In light of the misuse of AI to amplify digital repression and the spread of disinformation, the report highlights a positive trend in over half of the countries analyzed in the Freedom on the Net (FOTN) report, where governments have taken steps to address information integrity.
The report calls on policymakers, along with their civic and private-sector partners, to intensify efforts in protecting internet freedom by enforcing rules related to online content, supporting fact-checking and digital literacy initiatives, and passing new guidelines to limit the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in campaigning.
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