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Freedom on the Net 2025

Lebanon

Partly Free
50
100
A Obstacles to Access 10 25
B Limits on Content 22 35
C Violations of User Rights 18 40
Last Year's Score & Status
50 100 Partly Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
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header1 Key Developments, June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025

Internet freedom in Lebanon was threatened during the coverage period. The expansion of Israeli military airstrikes against Lebanon left critical telecommunications infrastructure damaged and many people without internet access. Content manipulation was widespread amid the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Three reporters were killed by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon. An ongoing crackdown on online criticism of powerful figures continued, with some journalists facing investigations and summonses. Several political and news websites faced cyberattacks.

  • At least 18 telecommunications towers were damaged across the country as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), disrupting access for people.1 Those who lived in more heavily impacted areas such as the suburbs of Beirut as well as the south of the country reported being unable to access the internet for several months after a November 2024 ceasefire was agreed (A1).2
  • In March 2025, the chairman of the Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) filed legal complaints against Daraj, an independent media outlet, after its journalists had mentioned SGBL in reporting on allegations of corruption and money laundering by the former governor of Lebanon’s central bank.3 An additional complaint was lodged in March against Daraj and another independent outlet that had run investigative stories, Megaphone, accusing them of undermining state security, among other charges. In April, journalists from both outlets were summoned by the public prosecutor’s office for questioning. A coalition of civil society groups in March denounced the targeting of Daraj and Megaphone as “defamatory and alarming” (B6 and C3).4
  • Content manipulation, including material generated by artificial intelligence (AI),5 was widespread amid the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with both sides reportedly disseminating false or misleading information (B5).6
  • There were reports during summer 2025, after the coverage period, of security forces confiscating the mobile phones of Syrian refugees during raids or at checkpoints without having secured a warrant (C5).7
  • Three journalists were killed by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon in October 2024, and several others were injured. Two of the journalists who were killed, Ghassan Najjar and Mohammad Reda, worked for Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, which was considered supportive of the Iranian regime and shared content online. The third journalist who was killed was Wissam Qassim, who worked for Al-Manar TV, a Hezbollah-owned station that also shared content online (C7).8
  • Several political and news websites were disabled by cyberattacks during the conflict with Israel in October 2024. The website of Al-Mayadeen was made inaccessible by a cyberattack. The online outlet Al-Akhbar, which other media outlets have labeled as pro-Hezbollah, was similarly targeted by a series of cyberattacks (C8).9

header2 Political Overview

Lebanon’s political system ensures representation for its officially recognized religious communities, but limits competition and impedes the rise of cross-communal or civic parties. While residents enjoy some civil liberties and media pluralism, they also suffer from pervasive corruption and major weaknesses in the rule of law. Hezbollah, a Shiite political and militant group, maintains significant influence in the country. Lebanon’s large population of noncitizens, including refugees and migrant workers, remain subject to legal constraints and societal attitudes that severely restrict their access to employment, freedom of movement, and other fundamental rights. Israeli intelligence operatives simultaneously detonated thousands of pagers across Lebanon in September 2024, killing at least 12 people and injuring approximately 2,800. Shortly afterward, a significant escalation in hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli military took place, culminating in the Israeli military’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon in October. The Lebanese government said in December that more than 4,000 people had been killed and more than 16,000 had been injured by Israeli forces since October 2023, with the majority of casualties occurring after the escalation in hostilities in September 2024.

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? 4.004 6.006

Score Change: The score improved from 3 to 4 because some measurement sources indicated an increase in fixed and mobile internet speeds in recent years. However, long-standing electricity issues1 and damage to telecommunications infrastructure from an Israeli ground invasion2 hindered access to the internet in some areas.3

A2 0-3 pts

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? 0.000 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? 4.004 6.006
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? 1.001 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? 4.004 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? 2.002 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? 2.002 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 2.002 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? 2.002 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? 2.002 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 3.003 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? 5.005 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? 2.002 6.006
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? 2.002 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? 3.003 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 3.003 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 3.003 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? 2.002 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? 2.002 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

Score Change: The score declined from 2 to 1 because at least two online media outlets that hosted political content were disabled by cyberattacks.1

On Lebanon

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

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Country Facts

  • Population

    5,490,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    39 100 partly free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    50 100 partly free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Partly Free

  • Networks Restricted

    No

  • Websites Blocked

    Yes

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes