News in detail

How healthy is the internet?

The Internet Health Report describes people’s real experiences of the internet, what’s helping and what’s hurting users. It is an independent, open-source compilation of data, research results, and reports on five topics, reflecting the ongoing development of the internet. This report is based on a wide range of existing research results on issues such as data protection, connectivity, online harassment and the business basics of online platforms.

“It’s getting easier to explain what internet health means. When we launched the prototype for the Internet Health Report in 2016 it was less so. What changed?”, asks this year’s report as its point of departure question.

Answer: For one, there are all the negative headlines regularly appearing about the unhealthy aspects of the internet which together point to what people don’t like about the current path the internet is taking.
. Many people have begun to caution that technology companies have concentrated too much power between them, that social media serves more and more as a place for harassment, that our personal data is being compromised and that democratic processes (like elections) are being violated and manipulated through media and online advertising.

The situation has worsened in terms of censorship, online harassment, and energy consumption. Also, the majority of internet users worldwide is not informed nearly enough on how their data is being collected, distributed, stored or even reused in novel ways. Too many place enormous confidence the internet and telecommunications companies, according to the report, without demanding information about their privacy policies.

In addition to many unpleasant developments, the report does offer positive findings too: The share of encrypted web page views rose from 50 to 70 percent within a year. The number of people worldwide who have access to the internet is growing steadily – despite major differences, which have to do with the comparatively high cost in poor countries.

For those who think the internet is bad despite it all, the report offers a few ideas for how each and every user can contribute to making the internet a healthier environment.