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Freedom on the Net 2025

Serbia

Partly Free
67
100
A Obstacles to Access 21 25
B Limits on Content 24 35
C Violations of User Rights 22 40
Last Year's Score & Status
70 100 Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
Serbia_hero

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

Internet freedom in Serbia declined during the coverage period as the government cracked down on widespread protests that began after the September 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad killed 16 people. Authorities detained social media users, including students, for content related to the demonstrations, and online journalists who attempted to cover the story encountered increased violence and harassment, both online and in person. Activists and journalists continued to be targeted for surveillance with spyware, and media outlets faced a barrage of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). Despite these threats, Serbia still featured only limited website blocking and strong constitutional protections for journalists.

  • In February 2025, Netherlands-based United Group sold subsidiary Serbia Broadband to e& PPF Telecom Group, a joint venture between companies based in Czechia and the United Arab Emirates; United Group also sold other Serbian media assets, including NetTV and TotalTV,1 to state-owned Telekom Serbia (A4 and B6).2
  • In February 2025, law enforcement officers launched a raid on four nongovernmental organizations, including the Center for Research Transparency and Accountability, which operates the fact-checking outlet Istinomer. Prosecutors claimed that the groups had laundered funds from the US Agency for International Development, but Reporters Without Borders decried the raid as a “political move” (B5, B6, and C7).3
  • In April 2025, Stefan Radojičić, a student at the University of Belgrade, was detained after the progovernment outlet The Informer published a leaked video of a speech he gave at the university. During his detention, his phone was confiscated (B8 and C3).4
  • A December 2024 Amnesty International report revealed that Serbian authorities routinely used NoviSpy, a unique spyware tool installed on victims’ devices while they were in police detention, and Cellebrite, a data extraction tool, to access the sensitive information of journalists and activists.5 In February 2025, Cellebrite stopped offering services in Serbia in response to Amnesty International’s report (B8 and C5).6
  • In March 2025, Amnesty International found that two journalists working for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network had been targeted with Pegasus, a spyware tool produced by the Israeli cybersurveillance company NSO Group (C5).7
  • Between January and May 2025, the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS) reported 15 physical attacks against journalists, including reporters who work online.8 In March 2025, unidentified attackers vandalized the vehicle of Rijalda Mujezinović, a Brodarevo-based journalist who had been supportive of the anticorruption protests and critical of the government on social media (C7).9

header2 Political Overview

Serbia is a parliamentary republic that holds multiparty elections, but over the past decade the ruling Serbian Progressive Party has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting legal and extralegal pressure on independent media, the political opposition, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens who express dissent.

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? 6.006 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? 2.002 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? 6.006 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? 4.004 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? 6.006 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? 3.003 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? 3.003 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? 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? 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? 4.004 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 5 to 4 due to the authorities’ efforts to intimidate people who organized online and the use of extraction technology against activists.1

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? 4.004 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? 3.003 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? 4.004 6.006

Score Change: The score declined from 5 to 4 because people were detained for online speech during the country’s anticorruption protests.1

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? 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? 2.002 5.005

Score Change: The score declined from 3 to 2 because of an uptick in harassment and physical attacks against online journalists.1

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 Serbia

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

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Country Facts

  • Population

    6,664,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    56 100 partly free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    67 100 partly free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Partly Free

  • Networks Restricted

    No

  • Websites Blocked

    No

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes