Global internet censorship

Country Profiles Download PDF Executive Summary Sincethe Berkman Klein Center has been part of independent academic efforts to enumerate the shaping and filtering of Internet content, and in particular that found on the web, by national governments. In research conducted over a decade and a half, we carried out tests for Internet filtering and documented content restriction practices in 75 countries. Today we release an update, based on research methods designed to evolve along with the web itself, that shows increasing sophistication by those who place content online, by those who provide content hosting platforms, and by those who wish to stop their citizens from finding and experiencing it.

Global internet censorship

Overview[ edit ] Many of the challenges associated with Internet censorship are similar to those for offline censorship of more traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, books, music, radio, television, and film. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: Thus censors must work Global internet censorship prevent access to information even though they lack physical or legal control over the websites themselves.


Global internet censorship

A Time Magazine article quotes computer scientist John Gilmoreone of the Global internet censorship of the Electronic Frontier Foundationas saying "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

Blocking and filtering can be based on relatively static blacklists or be determined more dynamically based on a real-time examination of the information being exchanged. Blacklists may be produced manually or automatically and are often not available to non-customers of the blocking software.


In some cases the censoring authorities may surreptitiously block content to mislead the public into believing that censorship has not been applied. This is achieved by returning a fake "Not Found" error message when an attempt is made to access a blocked website.

Pseudonymity and data havens such as Freenet protect free speech using technologies that guarantee material cannot be removed and prevents the identification of authors.

Technologically savvy users can often find ways to access blocked content. Nevertheless, blocking remains an effective means of limiting access to sensitive information for most users when censors, such as those in Chinaare able to devote significant resources to building and maintaining a comprehensive censorship system.

The verb " rivercrab " colloquially refers to censorship of the Internet, particularly in Asia. Access to a certain IP address is denied.

Global internet censorship

If the target Web site is hosted in a shared hosting serverall websites on the same server will be blocked. A typical circumvention method is to find proxies that have access to the target websites, but proxies may be jammed or blocked, and some Web sites, such as Wikipedia when editingalso block proxies.


Introduction and Background

Due to challenges with geolocationgeo-blocking is normally implemented via IP address blocking. Domain name system DNS filtering and redirection: Blocked domain names are not resolved, or an incorrect IP address is returned via DNS hijacking or other means.

A typical circumvention method is to find an alternative DNS resolver that resolves domain names correctly, but domain name servers are subject to blockage as well, especially IP address blocking. Another workaround is to bypass DNS if the IP address is obtainable from other sources and is not itself blocked.

This affects the HTTP protocol. Terminate TCP packet transmissions when a certain number of controversial keywords are detected. If a previous TCP connection is blocked by the filter, future connection attempts from both sides can also be blocked for some variable amount of time.


A technically simpler method of Internet censorship is to completely cut off all routers, either by software or by hardware turning off machines, pulling out cables.

Internet Unblocking: Proxies and circumvention Filtering or regulation by governments or private Internet access providers curtails the democratizing effects and economic benefits of the Internet. CCIA has applauded Obama Administration efforts to combat censorship, filtering and invasions of online privacy by foreign regimes.
OpenNet Initiative[ edit ] In a series of reports issued between and the OpenNet Initiative ONI classified the magnitude of censorship or filtering occurring in a country in four areas of activity. A large portion of content in several categories is blocked.
Google Isn’t A Search Engine – Proof for IDIOTS Share via Email Customers at an internet cafe in Guilin, China, where the government places severe restrictions on web access.

A circumvention method could be to use a satellite ISP to access Internet. Major portals, including search enginesmay exclude web sites that they would ordinarily include.


Sometimes this exclusion is done to satisfy a legal or other requirement, other times it is purely at the discretion of the portal. Denial-of-service attacks and attacks that deface opposition websites can produce the same result as other blocking techniques, preventing or limiting access to certain websites or other online services, although only for a limited period of time.

This technique might be used during the lead up to an election or some other sensitive period. It is more frequently used by non-state actors seeking to disrupt services. Content-control software Writing in Ronald Deibertprofessor of political science at the University of Toronto and co-founder and one of the principal investigators of the OpenNet Initiativeand, writing inEvgeny Morzov, a visiting scholar at Stanford University and an Op-Ed contributor to the New York Timesexplain that companies in the United States, Finland, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, and South Africa are in part responsible for the increasing sophistication of online content filtering worldwide.

While the off-the-shelf filtering software sold by Internet security companies are primarily marketed to businesses and individuals seeking to protect themselves and their employees and families, they are also used by governments to block what they consider sensitive content. The companies sell products that are liable to be used by governments to violate human rights and freedom of information.

RWB said that the list is not exhaustive and will be expanded in the coming months.The world's internet has been slowed down by what experts are describing as the biggest attack of its kind in history.

abstract = "Many accounts of censorship begin- A nd end-with anecdotes or short-term studies from a handful of vantage points. To enable continuous measurement of network-level censorship on an Internet-wide basis, Augur leverages TCP/IP side channels to measure reachability between two Internet locations from off-path third-party vantage points.".

This study, conducted by the Internet Monitor project at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, documents the practice of Internet censorship around the world through empirical testing in 45 countries of the availability of 2, of the world’s most-trafficked and influential websites, plus additional country-specific websites.

There is a highly uneven topography of Internet censorship around the globe, one that reflects the geographies of the world’s diverse political systems, the extent of Internet penetration rates, the social, cultural, and economic constitutions of various societies, and the degree of political opposition.

Mar 19,  · Turkey’s Twitter Block and Global Internet Freedom. Survey Report There is widespread opposition to internet censorship in emerging and developing nations.

Executive Summary


Global Internet Censorship INTERNET MONITOR countries that engage in Internet filtering block both social and political content. For a large majority of the countries that have invested in the technical and administrative infrastructure for blocking.

Web censorship: the net is closing in | World news | The Guardian