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Freedom on the Net 2025

Nicaragua

Not Free
38
100
A Obstacles to Access 11 25
B Limits on Content 14 35
C Violations of User Rights 13 40
Last Year's Score & Status
41 100 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 declined in Nicaragua amid a broader crackdown on dissent that had been ongoing since the country’s 2018 antigovernment protests. Given the risk of reprisals from the regime, opposition figures, other dissidents, and independent journalists continued to self-censor or opt for anonymity when expressing themselves online. While digital media remained among the few spaces for independent journalism in Nicaragua, nearly all independent online outlets had to operate from exile due to state repression.

  • The General Law of Convergent Telecommunications was approved in October 2024. In addition to expanding the regulatory authority of the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services (TELCOR), the law established licensing requirements and a monthly fee for audiovisual providers—including those operating online. There was also concern that the law would be used to introduce further regulations governing online content (A4, A5, B3, and B6).1
  • The General Law of Convergent Telecommunications required telecommunications companies and audiovisual communications service providers to give TELCOR “all information requested, including statistical and georeferenced information.”2 Free expression organizations noted that these provisions could grant the government essentially unfettered access to dissidents’ personal user data.3 Separately, in September 2024, the National Assembly approved a reform to the criminal code that allowed the National Police to request, without a court order, digital information from telecommunications companies—including call logs, text and voice messages, geolocation data, and internet protocol (IP) addresses—on individuals under investigation (C6).4
  • The websites of about 15 media outlets and universities were blocked in March 2025. The sites used the .ni country domain, and the blocks appeared to have been implemented by the National University of Engineering, which oversees .ni domain registrations. Though some of the media outlets had previously migrated to new domains, redirected traffic from their .ni sites to the new addresses was also blocked (B1 and B3).5
  • In September 2024, the National Assembly approved reforms to the 2020 Special Cybercrimes Law, which has been used to punish government opponents and critics. Among other provisions, the changes established extraterritorial jurisdiction, allowed for the prosecution of “collaborators” and “accomplices” of alleged violators, explicitly stated that social media activity could be prosecuted, and increased penalties to as long as 15 years in prison for certain offenses (C2).6
  • In September 2024, the government exiled 135 political prisoners to Guatemala and stripped them of their Nicaraguan nationality. Among those affected were digital and television journalist Victor Ticay and Freddy Quezada, a retired professor who had been arrested for criticizing the regime on social media.7 Regime critics and opponents have increasingly been subjected to shorter-term detentions and forced disappearances, often in connection with their online activities (C3 and C7).8

header2 Political Overview

The 2006 election of Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega as president began a period of democratic deterioration marked by the consolidation of all branches of government under his party’s control, the limitation of fundamental freedoms, and unchecked corruption in government. In 2018, state forces, with the aid of informally allied armed groups, responded to a mass antigovernment protest movement with violence and repression. The rule of law collapsed as the government moved to put down the movement, with rights monitors reporting killings, extrajudicial detentions, disappearances, and torture. Since then, Ortega’s regime has consolidated its power by engaging in surveillance, curtailing press freedoms, arresting political opponents, sending dissidents into exile, and stripping away their citizenship.

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? 3.003 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? 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? 5.005 6.006
A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 3.003 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? 4.004 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 6 to 4 due to blocks on the websites of media outlets and universities.

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? 1.001 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 1.001 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? 1.001 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 2.002 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? 3.003 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? 1.001 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? 0.000 4.004

Score Change: The score declined from 1 to 0 because reforms to the 2020 Special Cybercrimes Law increased penalties to as long as 15 years in prison for certain offenses.

C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 1.001 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 4.004 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 2.002 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? 3.003 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? 1.001 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 Nicaragua

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

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Country Facts

  • Population

    6,948,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    14 100 not free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    38 100 not free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Not Free

  • Networks Restricted

    No

  • Websites Blocked

    Yes

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes