UK slips down global press freedom list due to Snowden leaks response

Britain has slipped down the global rankings for freedom of the press as a result of the government's crackdown on the Guardian over its reporting of whistleblower Edward Snowden's surveillance disclosures. The annual index of media freedom, published on Wednesday, attributes the UK's drop to "negative developments", mainly the way the government responded last year to the Guardian with threats of legal action, the destruction of computer hard drives and the nine-hour detention of David Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald.

Freedom of Press 2014 is published by the US-based Freedom House, an NGO established in 1941 that has been ranking countries worldwide since 1980 in relation to democracy, human rights and press freedom. The organisation said press freedom had fallen to its lowest level for over a decade. It partly blames regressive steps in countries such as Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as the actions taken against journalists reporting on national security issues in both the US and UK.

Karin Karlekar, the report's project director, said: "We see declines in media freedom on a global level, driven by governments' efforts to control the message and punish the messenger."

Britain has dropped from 31st place last year to 36th, ranking it alongside Malta and Slovakia. The US also dropped down the Freedom House rankings, from 18 points to 21. Freedom House cited federal government efforts to curb reporters covering national security issues.


http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/may/01/uk-slips-press-freedom-list-snowden-nsa-leaks