Ireland has been ranked in 20th place in a major new study which measures the World Wide Web’s contribution to social, economic and political progress across 86 countries.
The index has been compiled by the World Wide Web Foundation - the organisation founded by the inventor of the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
The latest index is topped by Denmark, followed by Finland, Norway, the UK and Sweden.
Ireland was awarded a total value of 78 out of a maximum of 100. In individual categories it scored 87 for universal access, 83 for freedom and openness, 70 for relevant conten, and 58 for empowerment.
Ethiopia was ranked bottom of the index, followed by Myanmar, Yemen, Cameroon and Mali.
The latest index reveals that online censorship is on the rise with moderate or extensive censorship recorded in 38 per cent of countries, compared to 32 per cent a year earlier.
In addition, the study shows that web users are at increasing risk of indiscriminate government surveillance with laws preventing rated as ‘weak or non-existent’ in over 84 per cent of countries, up from 63 per cent in 2013. It adds that true net neutrality is a rarity.
The World Web Foundation found that the Web and social media are increasingly making a major contribution to sparking citizen action. In particular, it found that in over 60 per cent of countries surveyed, women are using the web to claim and exercise their rights to a moderate or extensive degree.
The latest index indicates that online gender-based violence is still not being tackled effectively, with law enforcement agencies and courts in 74 per cent of countries failing to take appropirate actions to halt such acts.
The Web Index also reveals that almost 60 per cent of the world’s population cannot get online while half of all web users live in countries that severely restrict their rights online.
“It’s time to recognise the Internet as a basic human right. That means guaranteeing affordable access for all, ensuring Internet packets are delivered without commercial or political discrimination, and protecting the privacy and freedom of web users regardless of where they live,” said Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
“In an increasingly unequal world, the web can be a great leveller - but only if we hardwire the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, affordable access and net neutrality in toe the rules of the game,” he added.
