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Freedom on the Net 2025

Belarus

Not Free
20
100
A Obstacles to Access 12 25
B Limits on Content 5 35
C Violations of User Rights 3 40
Last Year's Score & Status
22 100 Not Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
Belarus_hero

header1 Key Developments, June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025

Internet freedom in Belarus declined further during the coverage period. The government continued to suppress online speech, including by blocking independent media outlets and information sources, and using legislation to criminalize online materials produced by what it deemed to be “extremist” or “terrorist” groups and individuals. The government also arbitrarily arrested remaining media workers, online activists, and others.

  • The Operation and Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus issued an order to internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict access to websites hosted outside of the .by domain from January 25 to January 27. The order effectively blocked most foreign websites during the country’s tightly controlled presidential election, held on January 26.1 Earlier, on January 10, reports had emerged that YouTube, Twitch, Telegram, TikTok, and Discord were blocked. The state telecommunications agency Beltelecom and the telecommunications company MTS the same day said they were conducting technical work (A3 and B1).2
  • In September 2024, Marat Markau, the minister of information, announced that over 14,000 “web resources” were blocked in Belarus, including 5,000 websites that were deemed “extremist.” The list included the websites of independent media outlets and human rights organizations (B1).3
  • In the lead-up to the January 2025 elections, several online media outlets deleted content about training sessions for election commissioners (B2).4
  • January 2025 amendments to the guidelines “On Registration of Domain Names in the National Zone of Belarus” allowed administrators of the national domain to cancel the registration of domains that harm the “national interest of Belarus,” and add them into a new ban list (B3).5
  • Throughout the coverage period, the Belarusian authorities pursued criminal charges against human rights defenders and journalists in exile. In July 2024, a Minsk court sentenced 20 people who had supported Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya online, including journalists Yury Drakakhrust and Hanna Liubakova, to 10 years in prison in absentia (C3).6
  • In October 2024, Andrei Parotnikau, a military blogger who was extradited from Moscow, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on a host of charges, including treason and the “promotion of extremist activities” (C3).7
  • In May 2025, it was reported that Valiantsin Shtermer, who was sentenced to prison in 2023 for comments critical of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, had died in the Škloŭ penal colony earlier in the year. He had reportedly suffered a stroke prior to being sentenced (C3 and C7).8

header2 Political Overview

Belarus is an authoritarian state in which elections are openly rigged and civil liberties are severely restricted. Security forces have violently assaulted and arbitrarily detained journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens who challenge the regime. The judiciary and other institutions lack independence and provide no check on President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s power.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report. 

A Obstacles to Access

A1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? 5.005 6.006
A2 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? 3.003 3.003
A3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? 3.003 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 4 to 3 because the government ordered the blocking of all websites hosted outside of the .by domain during the January 2025 election.1

A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 1.001 6.006
A5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? 0.000 4.004

B Limits on Content

B1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 1.001 6.006
B2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, content hosts, or digital platforms to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 1.001 4.004
B3 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? 0.000 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 0.000 4.004
B5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a particular political interest? 1.001 4.004
B6 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? 0.000 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 1.001 4.004
B8 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do conditions impede users’ ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? 1.001 6.006

C Violations of User Rights

C1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? 0.000 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 1 to 0 to reflect the passage of laws in recent years that further undermined protections for freedom of expression.

C2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are there laws that assign criminal penalties or civil liability for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 0.000 4.004
C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 0.000 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 1.001 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 1.001 6.006
C6 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users’ right to privacy? 0.000 6.006
C7 1.00-5.00 pts0-5 pts
Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? 0.000 5.005
C8 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? 1.001 3.003

On Belarus

See all data, scores & information on this country or territory.

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Country Facts

  • Population

    9,228,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    7 100 not free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    20 100 not free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Not Free

  • Networks Restricted

    No

  • Websites Blocked

    Yes

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes