For most people today, the internet is an essential part of how they operate — where they get their information, buy items, connect with friends, do their jobs. So it’s important for people to know that internet freedom is actually declining in the United States and around the world, according to a new study by the watchdog organization Freedom House that tracked improvements and declines in obstacles to access, limits on content and violations of user rights in 65 countries, over the past year. The organization assigned numbers to countries on a scale of 100, with lower numbers for countries that have more internet access and freedom of expression.