Internet users in Nigeria and Kenya lead the world in terms of believing internet access fosters freedom, feeling safe to express their opinions online and feeling free from government surveillance online, according to a new study.
According to the study conducted across 17 countries by the BBC, over 75 per cent of Nigerian and Kenyan respondents said they believe internet access has brought greater freedom – two of the highest positive responses globally.
More than half of respondents in the two countries also said they feel safe to express their opinions online, as compared to the majority of global respondents – with 52 per cent of global respondents saying they feel unsafe online.
Similarly, while one in three global respondents said they fear government surveillance online, the majority of Nigerian and Kenyan respondents do not share this fear – 63 per cent of Nigerians and 60 per cent of Kenyans said they feel free from government surveillance online.
Conversely, freedom of press did not fare well within Africa or globally, with only 40 per cent of respondents worldwide saying they believe the media is free to report news “accurately, truthfully and without undue bias”.
In Nigeria, 49 per cent of survey participants said they feel there is press freedom in the country, while in Kenya the figure was 44 per cent – both figures significantly lower as compared to opinions in 2007, when 66 per cent and 81 per cent of respondents in Nigeria and Kenya respectively believed there was press freedom.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
