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Seven countries where Internet freedom is under threat.

BY SANJA KELLY, SARAH COOK | SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

This week, Freedom House released its Freedom on the Net 2012 report, examining Internet and digital media freedom in 47 countries across the globe.

At a time when nearly one third of the world's population has accessed the Internet, governments have in recent years devised various methods to obstruct the openness of online communications. The report's findings indicate that such restrictions on Internet freedom in many countries have continued to grow since January 2011. Even more problematic, governments' methods of control are evolving -- becoming more sophisticated and less visible. As part of the assessment, Freedom House identified seven countries to watch because they are at particular risk of Internet freedom setbacks in the coming year.

Unlike countries such as China and Iran, where the government is likely to add new layers to an already robust control apparatus, in these seven, the Internet still remains a relatively unconstrained space for free expression. Nevertheless, these countries have all recently considered or introduced legislation that would negatively affect net freedom, placing them at risk of further decline.

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Sanja Kelly is the project director for Freedom on the Net at Freedom House. Sarah Cook is a senior research analyst at Freedom House.