Partly Free
64
/ 100
| A Obstacles to Access | 15 / 25 |
| B Limits on Content | 28 / 35 |
| C Violations of User Rights | 21 / 40 |
Last Year's Score & Status
65 / 100 Partly Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
Internet freedom slightly declined during the coverage period. While internet users in Ghana enjoy an information space that is largely free from technical censorship, political actors spread false information on social media ahead of the country’s 2024 elections. Individuals risk arrest for online posts, and a nongovernmental organization experienced cyberattacks.
- False and misleading information proliferated during the December 2024 general election period.1 Fake “news cards”—graphics used by media outlets to disseminate information under their logo—circulated online under falsified logos. While news houses labeled these as “fake news,” politicians also created and circulated their own “fake news” labels on unfavorable coverage. Journalists and fact-checkers responded by embedding audio of politicians’ statements into their own news cards (B5).2
- President Nana Akufo-Addo refrained from signing the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act into law before his term ended in January 2025. The bill would have criminalized online activities deemed to promote LGBT+ rights and incentivized platforms to censor online content that positively portrayed LGBT+ relationships. Lawmakers introduced a new version of the legislation in February 2025 (B2 and C2).3
- Arrests for online activities occurred during the coverage period. An opposition activist was arrested in May 2025 and charged with publishing false news in connection with social media posts about Ghana’s chief justice.4 In August 2024, a court sentenced a blogger to one month in prison on charges of spreading false news, in connection with a story containing inaccurate information that led to a bank run. Civil society actors criticized the custodial punishment (C3).5
- The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) reported that its websites were targeted with cyberattacks in July 2024; they were offline for five weeks. The attacks occurred after MFWA’s Fourth Estate project reported on government appointees’ alleged involvement in illegal mining operations (C8).6
Since 1992, Ghana has held competitive multiparty elections and undergone peaceful transfers of power between the two main political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Although the country has a relatively strong record of upholding political rights and civil liberties, discrimination against women persists, and LGBT+ people face widespread discrimination, intimidation, and violence. There are some weaknesses in judicial independence, key governance institutions, and the application of the rule of law. Corruption and public service delivery present challenges to government performance. Politically motivated violence remains a concern.
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.
A1 0-6 pts
| Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? | 4 / 6 |
Score Change: The score improved from 3 to 4 because breaks to undersea cables that disrupted mobile service for several days in March 2024 did not recur during the coverage period.
A2 0-3 pts
| Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? | 1 / 3 |
A3 0-6 pts
| Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? | 5 / 6 |
A4 0-6 pts
| Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? | 4 / 6 |
A5 0-4 pts
| Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? | 1 / 4 |
B1 0-6 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 / 6 |
B2 0-4 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 / 4 |
B3 0-4 pts
| Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? | 2 / 4 |
B4 0-4 pts
| Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? | 3 / 4 |
B5 0-4 pts
| Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a particular political interest? | 2 / 4 |
B6 0-3 pts
| Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? | 3 / 3 |
B7 0-4 pts
| Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? | 3 / 4 |
B8 0-6 pts
| Do conditions impede users’ ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? | 6 / 6 |
C1 0-6 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 / 6 |
C2 0-4 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 / 4 |
C3 0-6 pts
| Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? | 3 / 6 |
C4 0-4 pts
| Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? | 2 / 4 |
C5 0-6 pts
| Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? | 3 / 6 |
C6 0-6 pts
| Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users’ right to privacy? | 3 / 6 |
C7 0-5 pts
| Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? | 3 / 5 |
C8 0-3 pts
| Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? | 1 / 3 |
Score Change: The score declined from 3 to 1 because the websites of a civil society organization faced cyberattacks after they reported on government appointees’ alleged links to illegal mining.
Footnotes
- 1Media Foundation for West Africa, “The State of Mis/Disinformation, Polarisation and State Threat to Ghana,” March 2025, https://mfwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-State-of-MisDisinformat….
- 2Nkem Agunwa and Joojo Cobbinah, “AI, Disinformation and the Battle for Truth: How Ghana’s 2024 Elections Exposed the New Age of Political Deception,” WITNESS, March 13, 2025, https://blog.witness.org/2025/03/disinformation-ghana-2024-election/.
- 3Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, “Ghana Lawmakers Reintroduce Anti-LGBTQ Legislation,” Reuters, March 03, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ghana-lawmakers-reintroduce-anti-l…; Thomas Naadi and Jake Lapham, “Ghanian MPs Reintroduce Controversial Anti-LGBT Bill,” BBC, March 03, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjy91gr48lo; Mohammed Kabore, “Anti-Gay Bill Reintroduced to Parliament for Consideration,” Radio Gold, February 27, 2025, https://radiogoldlive.com/anti-gay-bill-reintroduced-to-parliament-for-….
- 4Media Foundation for West Africa, “Ghana: Opposition Party Activist Charged with Publication of False News,” May 25, 2025, https://mfwa.org/country-highlights/ghana-activist-alfred-kumi-charged-….
- 5Media Foundation for West Africa, “Ghana: Court Sentences Blogger for 30 Days over False News Publication,” August 23, 2024, https://mfwa.org/issues-in-focus/ghana-court-sentences-blogger-for-30-d….
- 6Media Foundation for West Africa, @TheMFWA, “The websites we run have been under severe malicious attacks in the past few weeks. We are taking steps to deal with the challenge. This will make the websites unavailable to the public for some,” X, July 30, 2024, https://x.com/TheMFWA/status/1818342507882692918; “MFWA Suffers Cyberattacks after Galamsey Report,” GhanaWeb, September 7, 2024, https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/MFWA-suffers-cyberat….
