This questionnaire can used  to assess the state of media freedom in a given country. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists, news media and netizens enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom.

The questionnaire is developed by Reporters Without Borders and contains 44 main criteria indicative of the state of press freedom. It questions cover about every kind of violation directly affecting journalists and netizens (including murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats) and news media (censorship, confiscation of newspaper issues, searches and harassment). It is useful for assessing the degree  of  impunity  enjoyed  by  those  responsible  for  these  press  freedom violations.

The questionnaire takes account of the legal framework for the media (including penalties for press offences, the existence of a state monopoly for certain kinds of media and how the media are regulated) and the level of independence of the public media. It also reflects violations of the free flow of information on the Internet.