Internet censorship
Encyclopedia
Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet
. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship
on their own or due to intimidation and fear.
Opinions on the topic of Internet censorship vary, with arguments being made both for and against censorship. Moreover, the extent of Internet censorship varies on a country-to-country basis. While some counties have little Internet censorship, other countries go as far as to limit the access of information such as news and suppress discussion among citizens. Internet censorship can also come about due to events such as the Arab Spring
, which led to instances of censorship in an attempt to undermine the protesters.
of more traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, books, music, radio, television, and films. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on website
s hosted outside the country. Thus censors must work to prevent access to information even though they lack physical or legal control over the websites themselves. This in turn requires the use of technical censorship methods that are unique to the Internet, such as site blocking and content filtering.
Views about the feasibility and effectiveness of Internet censorship have evolved in parallel with the development of the Internet and censorship technologies:
Blocking and filtering can be based on relatively static blacklist
s or be determined dynamically based on an examination of the information being exchanged. Blacklists may be produced manually or automatically and are often not available to the public. Blocking or filtering can be done at a centralized national level, at a decentralized sub-national level, or at an institutional level, for example in libraries, universities or Internet cafes. Blocking and filtering may also vary within a country across different ISPs. Countries may filter sensitive content on an on-going basis and/or introduce temporary filtering during key time periods such as elections. In some cases the censoring authorities may block content while leading the public to believe that censorship has not been applied. This is done by causing a fake "Not Found" error message to be displayed when an attempt to access a blocked web page is made (see 404 error for details).
Unless the censor has total control over all Internet-connected computers, such as in North Korea or Cuba, total censorship of information is very difficult or impossible to achieve due to the underlying distributed technology of the Internet. Pseudonymity
and data haven
s (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. Never-the-less, blocking remains an effective means of limiting access to sensitive information for most users when censors, such as those in China
, are able to devote significant resources to building and maintaining a comprehensive censorship system.
Many Internet experts use the term "splinternet
" to describe some of the effects of national firewalls
. The verb "rivercrab
" colloquially refers to censorship of the Internet, particularly in Asia.
, central Asia
, and the Middle East/North Africa
. A few countries in other regions also practice certain forms of filtering. In the United States
state-mandated Internet filtering occurs on some computers in libraries and K-12 schools. Content related to Nazism
or Holocaust denial
is blocked in France
and Germany
. Child pornography
, hate speech
, and sites that encourage the theft of intellectual property
are blocked in many countries throughout the world. In fact, most countries throughout the world, including many democracies with long traditions of strong support for freedom of expression and freedom of the press
, are engaged in some amount of online censorship, often with substantial public support.
, Reporters Without Borders
, Freedom House
, and in the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
's Human Rights Reports. The ratings produced by several of these organizations are summarized in the Internet censorship by country
and the Censorship by country
articles.
, Germany
, India
, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom
, and the United States
), while one was found to engage in pervasive filtering in all three areas (China
), 13 were found to engage in pervasive filtering in one or more areas, and 34 were found to engage in some level of filtering in one or more areas. Of the 10 countries classified in both 2007 and 2009, one reduced its level of filtering (Pakistan
), five increased their level of filtering (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan), and four maintained the same level of filtering (China
, Iran
, Myanmar, and Tajikistan
).
that advocates freedom of the press
, started publishing a list of "Enemies of the Internet". The organization classifies a country as an enemy of the internet because "all of these countries mark themselves out not just for their capacity to censor news and information online but also for their almost systematic repression of Internet users." In 2007 a second list of countries "Under Surveillance" (originally "Under Watch") was added. Both lists are updated annually.
Enemies of the Internet: (excluding Hong Kong
and Macau
)
Countries Under Surveillance:
When the "Enemies of the Internet" list was introduced in 2006, it listed 13 countries. By 2011 the number of countries listed had fallen to 10 with the move of Belarus, Egypt, and Tunisia
to the "Countries under surveillance." Belarus was moved to surveillance status in 2009 and Egypt and Tunisia were moved after their revolutions
in 2011. No new countries have been added to the list since it was established.
When the "Countries under surveillance" list was introduced in 2008, it listed 10 countries. By 2011 the number of countries listed had grown to 16 after Jordan in 2009, Tajikistan in 2009, and Yemen in 2010 were dropped from the list; Australia
in 2009, France
in 2011, Russia in 2010, South Korea in 2009, Turkey in 2010, and Venezuela
in 2011 were added; and with the three moves from the "Enemies of the Internet" list noted earlier. Bahrain, Eritrea
, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka dropped from the list in 2010, but were added again in 2011. Libya dropped from the list in 2009, but was added again in 2011.
by the international polling firm GlobeScan
using telephone and in-person interviews between 30 November 2009 and 7 February 2010. GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller felt, overall, that the poll showed that:
Findings from the poll include:
During the Arab Spring
of 2011 media jihad
(media struggle
) was extensive. Most observers believe that the Internet and mobile technologies, particularly social networks such as Facebook
and Twitter
, played and are playing important new and unique roles in organizing and spreading the protests and making them visible to the rest of the world. An activist in Egypt tweeted, “we use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world”.
This successful use of digital media in turn lead to increased censorship including the complete loss of Internet access for periods of time in Egypt and Libya
in 2011. In Syria, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), an organization that operates with at least tacit support of the government, claims responsibility for defacing or otherwise compromising scores of websites that it contends spread news hostile to the Syrian regime. SEA disseminates denial of service (DoS) software designed to target media websites including those of Al Jazeera, BBC News, Syrian satellite broadcaster Orient TV, and Dubai-based al-Arabia TV.
The success of several Arab Spring revolutions offers a chance to establish greater freedom of expression in countries that were previously subject to very strict censorship, especially online. At the same time success in this effort is not certain. In response to these dramatic events and opportunities, in March 2011, Reporters Without Borders moved Tunisia
and Egypt from its "Internet enemies" list to its list of countries "under surveillance". At the same time there are warnings that Internet censorship might increase following the events of the Arab Spring.
Examples include:
norms. In particular censorship of child pornography
and to protect children enjoys very widespread public support and such content is subject to censorship and other restrictions in most countries.
Examples include:
that targets the Web sites of insurgents, extremists, and terrorists often enjoys wide public support.
Examples include:
or other intellectual property rights are often blocked, particularly in western Europe
and North America
. In addition the protection of existing economic interests is sometimes the motivation for blocking new Internet services such as low-cost telephone services that use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). These services can reduce the customer base of telecommunications companies, many of which enjoy entrenched monopoly
positions and some of which are government sponsored or controlled.
Examples include:
Examples include:
", has been known to block the Lincolnshire (UK) placename Scunthorpe
. Another example is blocking an IP-address of a server that hosts multiple websites, which prevents access to all of the websites rather than just those that contain content deemed offensive.
, professor of political science at the University of Toronto
and co-founder and one of the principal investigators of the OpenNet Initiative
, and, writing in 2011, Evgeny Morzov, a visiting scholar at Stanford University
and an Op-Ed contributor to the New York Times, explain that companies in the US, 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.
Among the most popular filtering software programs is SmartFilter by Secure Computing
in California, which was bought by McAfee
in 2008. SmartFilter has been used by Tunisia
, Saudi Arabia
, Sudan
, the UAE, Kuwait
, Bahrain
, Iran
, and Oman
, as well as the US and the UK. Myanmar
and Yemen
have used filtering software from Websense
. The Canadian-made
commercial filter Netsweeper is used in Qatar
, the UAE, and Yemen
.
In a U.S. lawsuit filed in May 2011, Cisco Systems
is accused of helping China
build a firewall, known widely as the Golden Shield, to censor the Internet and keep tabs on dissidents. Cisco said it had made nothing special for China. Cisco is also accused of aiding the Chinese government in monitoring and apprehending members of the banned Falun Gong
group.
Many filtering programs allow blocking to be configured based on dozens of categories and sub-categories such as these from Websense: "abortion" (pro-life, pro-choice), "adult material" (adult content, lingerie and swimsuit, nudity, sex, sex education), "advocacy groups" (sites that promote change or reform in public policy, public opinion, social practice, economic activities, and relationships), "drugs" (abused drugs, marijuana, prescribed medications, supplements and unregulated compounds), "religion" (non-traditional religions occult and folklore, traditional religions), .... The blocking categories used by the filtering programs may contain errors leading to the unintended blocking of websites. The blocking of DailyMotion
in early 2007 by Tunisian authorities was, according to the OpenNet Initiative
, due to Secure Computing wrongly categorizing DailyMotion as pornography
for its SmartFilter filtering software. It was initially thought that Tunisia had blocked DailyMotion due to satirical videos about human rights violations in Tunisia, but after Secure Computing corrected the mistake access to DailyMotion was gradually restored in Tunisia.
Regulations and accountability related to the use of commercial filters and services are typically non-existent, and there is no or little oversight from civil society or other independent groups. Vendors often consider information about what sites and content is blocked valuable intellectual property that is not made available outside the company, sometimes not even to the organizations purchasing the filters. Thus by relying upon out-of-the-box filtering systems, the detailed task of deciding what is or is not acceptable speech has been outsourced to the commercial vendors.
Different techniques and resources are used to bypass Internet censorship, including proxy websites
, virtual private network
s, sneakernet
s, and circumvention software tools. Solutions have differing ease of use, speed, security, and risks. Most, however, rely on gaining access to an Internet connection that is not subject to filtering, often in a different jurisdiction not subject to the same censorship laws.
There are risks to using circumvention software or other methods to bypass Internet censorship. In some countries individuals that gain access to otherwise restricted content may be violating the law and if caught can be expelled, fired, jailed, or subject to other punishments and loss of access.
In June 2011 the New York Times reported that the U.S. is engaged in a "global effort to deploy 'shadow' Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks."
Topics:
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship
Self-censorship
Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own work , out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities of others, without overt pressure from any specific party or institution of authority...
on their own or due to intimidation and fear.
Opinions on the topic of Internet censorship vary, with arguments being made both for and against censorship. Moreover, the extent of Internet censorship varies on a country-to-country basis. While some counties have little Internet censorship, other countries go as far as to limit the access of information such as news and suppress discussion among citizens. Internet censorship can also come about due to events such as the Arab Spring
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
, which led to instances of censorship in an attempt to undermine the protesters.
Overview
The issues associated with Internet censorship are similar to those for offline censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of more traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, books, music, radio, television, and films. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s hosted outside the country. Thus censors must work to prevent access to information even though they lack physical or legal control over the websites themselves. This in turn requires the use of technical censorship methods that are unique to the Internet, such as site blocking and content filtering.
Views about the feasibility and effectiveness of Internet censorship have evolved in parallel with the development of the Internet and censorship technologies:
- A 1993 Time Magazine article quotes computer scientist John Gillmore, one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
, as saying "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." - In November 2007, "Father of the Internet" Vint CerfVint CerfVinton Gray "Vint" Cerf is an American computer scientist, who is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with American computer scientist Bob Kahn...
stated that he sees government control of the Internet failing because the Web is almost entirely privately owned. - A report of research conducted in 2007 and published in 2009 by the Berkman Center for Internet & SocietyBerkman Center for Internet & SocietyThe Berkman Center for Internet & Society is a research center at Harvard University that focuses on the study of cyberspace. Founded at Harvard Law School, the center traditionally focused on internet-related legal issues. On May 15, 2008, the Center was elevated to an interfaculty initiative of...
at Harvard University stated that: "We are confident that the [censorship circumvention] tool developers will for the most part keep ahead of the governments' blocking efforts", but also that "...we believe that less than two percent of all filtered Internet users use circumvention tools". - In contrast, a 2011 report by researchers at the Oxford Internet InstituteOxford Internet InstituteThe Oxford Internet Institute is a multi-disciplinary institute based at the University of Oxford, England, and housed in buildings owned by Balliol College, Oxford. It is devoted to the study of the societal implications of the Internet, with the aim of shaping research, policy and practice in...
published by UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
concludes "... the control of information on the Internet and Web is certainly feasible, and technological advances do not therefore guarantee greater freedom of speech."
Blocking and filtering can be based on relatively static blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
s or be determined dynamically based on an examination of the information being exchanged. Blacklists may be produced manually or automatically and are often not available to the public. Blocking or filtering can be done at a centralized national level, at a decentralized sub-national level, or at an institutional level, for example in libraries, universities or Internet cafes. Blocking and filtering may also vary within a country across different ISPs. Countries may filter sensitive content on an on-going basis and/or introduce temporary filtering during key time periods such as elections. In some cases the censoring authorities may block content while leading the public to believe that censorship has not been applied. This is done by causing a fake "Not Found" error message to be displayed when an attempt to access a blocked web page is made (see 404 error for details).
Unless the censor has total control over all Internet-connected computers, such as in North Korea or Cuba, total censorship of information is very difficult or impossible to achieve due to the underlying distributed technology of the Internet. Pseudonymity
Pseudonymity
Pseudonymity is a word derived from pseudonym, meaning 'false name', and anonymity, meaning unknown or undeclared source, describing a state of disguised identity. The pseudonym identifies a holder, that is, one or more human beings who possess but do not disclose their true names...
and data haven
Data haven
A data haven, like a corporate haven or tax haven, is a refuge for uninterrupted or unregulated data. Data havens are locations with legal environments that are friendly to the concept of a computer network freely holding data and even protecting its content and associated information...
s (such as Freenet
Freenet
Freenet is a decentralized, censorship-resistant distributed data store originally designed by Ian Clarke. According to Clarke, Freenet aims to provide freedom of speech through a peer-to-peer network with strong protection of anonymity; as part of supporting its users' freedom, Freenet is free and...
) 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. Never-the-less, blocking remains an effective means of limiting access to sensitive information for most users when censors, such as those in China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
, are able to devote significant resources to building and maintaining a comprehensive censorship system.
Many Internet experts use the term "splinternet
Splinternet
Splinternet is a term used to describe the splintering and dividing of the Internet due to various factors, such as technology, commerce, politics, nationalism, and religion. "Powerful forces are threatening to balkanise it," writes the Economist weekly, and it may soon splinter along geographic...
" to describe some of the effects of national firewalls
Firewall (computing)
A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....
. The verb "rivercrab
River crab (Internet slang)
River crab and Harmonious/Harmonize/Harmonization are Internet slangs created by Chinese netizens in reference to Internet censorship or the other censorship of China...
" colloquially refers to censorship of the Internet, particularly in Asia.
Around the world
As more people in more places begin using the Internet for important activities, there is an increase in online censorship, using more sophisticated techniques. The motives, scope, and effectiveness of Internet censorship vary widely from country to country. The countries engaged in state-mandated filtering are clustered in three main regions of the world: east AsiaEast Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, and the Middle East/North Africa
MENA
The term MENA, for "Middle East and North Africa", is an acronym often used in academic, military planning and business writing.The term covers an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both the Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries...
. A few countries in other regions also practice certain forms of filtering. In the United States
Internet censorship in the United States
Internet censorship in the United States is the suppression of information published or viewed on the Internet in the United States.-Overview:...
state-mandated Internet filtering occurs on some computers in libraries and K-12 schools. Content related to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
or Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
is blocked in France
Internet censorship in France
There is very little Internet censorship in France, apart from limited filtering of child pornography and Web sites that promote terrorism or racial hatred, and attempts to protect copyright.-Overview:...
and Germany
Internet censorship in Germany
Internet censorship in Germany is practised by law as well as the effect of some court decisions.An example of content censored by law is the removal of web sites from Google search results that deny the holocaust, which is a felony under German law....
. Child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, hate speech
Hate speech
Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
, and sites that encourage the theft of intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
are blocked in many countries throughout the world. In fact, most countries throughout the world, including many democracies with long traditions of strong support for freedom of expression and freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
, are engaged in some amount of online censorship, often with substantial public support.
Reports, ratings, and trends
Detailed country by country information on Internet censorship is provided by the OpenNet InitiativeOpenNet Initiative
The OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run...
, Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
, Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
, and in the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs at the United States Department of State is one of three bureaus and two offices that constitute the Office of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs...
's Human Rights Reports. The ratings produced by several of these organizations are summarized in the Internet censorship by country
Internet censorship by country
Internet censorship by country provides information on the types and levels of Internet censorship or filtering that is occurring in countries around the world. -Classifications:...
and the Censorship by country
Censorship by country
Censorship by country collects information on censorship, Internet censorship, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of speech, and Human Rights by country and presents it in a sortable table, together with links to articles with more information...
articles.
OpenNet Initiative reports
Through 2010 the OpenNet Initiative had documented Internet filtering by governments in over forty countries worldwide. The level of filtering in 26 countries in 2007 and in 25 countries in 2009 was classified in the political, social, and security areas. Of the 41 separate countries classified, seven were found to show no evidence of filtering in all three areas (Egypt, FranceInternet censorship in France
There is very little Internet censorship in France, apart from limited filtering of child pornography and Web sites that promote terrorism or racial hatred, and attempts to protect copyright.-Overview:...
, Germany
Internet censorship in Germany
Internet censorship in Germany is practised by law as well as the effect of some court decisions.An example of content censored by law is the removal of web sites from Google search results that deny the holocaust, which is a felony under German law....
, India
Internet censorship in India
Internet censorship in India is selectively practiced by both federal and state governments. While there is no sustained government policy or strategy to block access to Internet content on a large scale, measures for removing content that is obscene or otherwise objectionable, or that endangers...
, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom
Internet censorship in the United Kingdom
Internet censorship in the United Kingdom takes various forms, including blocking access to sites, and laws that criminalise publication or possession of certain material, particularly child pornography, within the United Kingdom.The U.K...
, and the United States
Internet censorship in the United States
Internet censorship in the United States is the suppression of information published or viewed on the Internet in the United States.-Overview:...
), while one was found to engage in pervasive filtering in all three areas (China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
), 13 were found to engage in pervasive filtering in one or more areas, and 34 were found to engage in some level of filtering in one or more areas. Of the 10 countries classified in both 2007 and 2009, one reduced its level of filtering (Pakistan
Internet censorship in Pakistan
Internet censorship in Pakistan is government control of information sent and received using the Internet.- Overview :The OpenNet Initiative listed Internet filtering in Pakistan as substantial in the social and conflict/security areas, as selective in the Internet tools area, and as suspected in...
), five increased their level of filtering (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan), and four maintained the same level of filtering (China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
, Iran
Internet censorship in Iran
In the first few years of the 21st century, Iran experienced a great surge in Internet usage, and, with 20 million people on the Internet, currently has the second highest percentage of its population online in the Middle East, after Israel. When initially introduced, the Internet services...
, Myanmar, and Tajikistan
Human rights in Tajikistan
Human rights in Tajikistan remain poor. Corruption continued to hamper democratic and social reform. The following human rights problems were reported: restricted right of citizens to change their government; torture and abuse of detainees and other personsby security forces; threats and abuse by...
).
Freedom on the Net reports
In the 2011 edition of Freedom House's report Freedom on the Net, of the 37 countries surveyed, 8 were rated as "free" (22%), 18 as "partly free" (49%), and 11 as "not free" (30%). In their 2009 report, of the 15 countries surveyed, 4 were rated as "free" (27%), 7 as "partly free" (47%), and 4 as "not free" (27%). And of the 15 countries surveyed in both 2009 and 2011, 5 were seen to be moving in the direction of more network freedom (33%), 9 moved toward less freedom (60%), and one was unchanged (7%)."Internet enemies" and countries under surveillance lists
In 2006, Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), a Paris-based international non-governmental organizationNon-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
that advocates freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
, started publishing a list of "Enemies of the Internet". The organization classifies a country as an enemy of the internet because "all of these countries mark themselves out not just for their capacity to censor news and information online but also for their almost systematic repression of Internet users." In 2007 a second list of countries "Under Surveillance" (originally "Under Watch") was added. Both lists are updated annually.
Enemies of the Internet: (excluding Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
)
Countries Under Surveillance:
When the "Enemies of the Internet" list was introduced in 2006, it listed 13 countries. By 2011 the number of countries listed had fallen to 10 with the move of Belarus, Egypt, and Tunisia
Internet censorship in Tunisia
Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube....
to the "Countries under surveillance." Belarus was moved to surveillance status in 2009 and Egypt and Tunisia were moved after their revolutions
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
in 2011. No new countries have been added to the list since it was established.
When the "Countries under surveillance" list was introduced in 2008, it listed 10 countries. By 2011 the number of countries listed had grown to 16 after Jordan in 2009, Tajikistan in 2009, and Yemen in 2010 were dropped from the list; Australia
Internet censorship in Australia
Internet censorship in Australia currently consists of a regulatory regime under which the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the power to enforce content restrictions on Internet content hosted within Australia, and maintain a "black-list" of overseas websites which is then...
in 2009, France
Internet censorship in France
There is very little Internet censorship in France, apart from limited filtering of child pornography and Web sites that promote terrorism or racial hatred, and attempts to protect copyright.-Overview:...
in 2011, Russia in 2010, South Korea in 2009, Turkey in 2010, and Venezuela
Internet in Venezuela
Internet use in Venezuela greatly expanded since 1998, but is mostly concentrated among younger, educated city residents, and use is centered around the capital, Caracas.-Use:...
in 2011 were added; and with the three moves from the "Enemies of the Internet" list noted earlier. Bahrain, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka dropped from the list in 2010, but were added again in 2011. Libya dropped from the list in 2009, but was added again in 2011.
BBC World Service global public opinion poll
A poll of 27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 Internet users, was conducted for the BBC World ServiceBBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
by the international polling firm GlobeScan
GlobeScan
Not to be confused with the British airline company 'Globespan' or the American semiconductor company 'Globespan'.GlobeScan is a Canadian-based company that does research and polling in public opinion as well as of private groups. It used to be known as Environics International...
using telephone and in-person interviews between 30 November 2009 and 7 February 2010. GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller felt, overall, that the poll showed that:
- Despite worries about privacy and fraud, people around the world see access to the internet as their fundamental right. They think the web is a force for good, and most don’t want governments to regulate it.
Findings from the poll include:
- Nearly four in five (78%) Internet users felt that the Internet had brought them greater freedom.
- Most Internet users (53%) felt that "the internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere".
- Opinion was evenly split between Internet users who felt that “the internet is a safe place to express my opinions” (48%) and those who disagreed (49%). Somewhat surprisingly users in GermanyInternet censorship in GermanyInternet censorship in Germany is practised by law as well as the effect of some court decisions.An example of content censored by law is the removal of web sites from Google search results that deny the holocaust, which is a felony under German law....
and FranceInternet censorship in FranceThere is very little Internet censorship in France, apart from limited filtering of child pornography and Web sites that promote terrorism or racial hatred, and attempts to protect copyright.-Overview:...
agreed the least, followed by users in highly filtered countries such as China and South Korea, while users in Egypt, IndiaInternet censorship in IndiaInternet censorship in India is selectively practiced by both federal and state governments. While there is no sustained government policy or strategy to block access to Internet content on a large scale, measures for removing content that is obscene or otherwise objectionable, or that endangers...
and Kenya agreed more strongly. - The aspects of the Internet that cause the most concern include: fraudFraudIn criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
(32%), violent and explicit content (27%), threats to privacyPrivacyPrivacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
(20%), state censorshipCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of content (6%), and the extent of corporate presence (3%). - Almost four in five Internet users and non-users around the world felt that access to the Internet was a fundamental right (50% strongly agreed, 29% somewhat agreed, 9% somewhat disagreed, 6% strongly disagreed, and 6% gave no opinion). And while there is strong support for this right in all of the countries surveyed, it is surprising that the United States and Canada were among the top five countries where people most strongly disagreed that access to the Internet was a fundamental right of all people (13% in Japan, 11% in the U.S.Internet censorship in the United StatesInternet censorship in the United States is the suppression of information published or viewed on the Internet in the United States.-Overview:...
, 11% in Kenya, 11% in PakistanInternet censorship in PakistanInternet censorship in Pakistan is government control of information sent and received using the Internet.- Overview :The OpenNet Initiative listed Internet filtering in Pakistan as substantial in the social and conflict/security areas, as selective in the Internet tools area, and as suspected in...
, and 10% in Canada strongly disagree).
Transparency of filtering or blocking activities
Among the countries that filter or block online content, few openly admit to or fully disclose their filtering and blocking activities. States are frequently opaque and/or deceptive about the blocking of access to political information. For example:- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the few states that publish detailed information about their filtering practices and display an acknowledgment to the user when accessing a blocked website.
- In contrast, countries such as China and TunisiaInternet censorship in TunisiaInternet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube....
send users a false error indication. China blocks requests by users for a banned website at the router level and an error message is sent, effectively preventing the user's IP addressIP addressAn Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
from making further http requests for a varying time, which appears to the user as "time-out" error with no explanation. Tunisia has altered the block page functionality of SmartFilter, the commercial filtering software it uses, so that users attempting to access blocked websites receive a fake "File not found" error page. - In Uzbekistan users are frequently sent block pages stating that the website is blocked because of pornographyPornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, even when the page contains no pornography. Uzbeki ISPs may also redirect users' request for blocked websites to unrelated websites, or sites similar to the banned websites, but with different information.
Arab Spring
- See also: 2011 Egyptian Internet shutdown and Free speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil warFree speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil warFree speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war....
During the Arab Spring
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
of 2011 media jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
(media struggle
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
) was extensive. Most observers believe that the Internet and mobile technologies, particularly social networks such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, played and are playing important new and unique roles in organizing and spreading the protests and making them visible to the rest of the world. An activist in Egypt tweeted, “we use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world”.
This successful use of digital media in turn lead to increased censorship including the complete loss of Internet access for periods of time in Egypt and Libya
Free speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil war
Free speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war....
in 2011. In Syria, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), an organization that operates with at least tacit support of the government, claims responsibility for defacing or otherwise compromising scores of websites that it contends spread news hostile to the Syrian regime. SEA disseminates denial of service (DoS) software designed to target media websites including those of Al Jazeera, BBC News, Syrian satellite broadcaster Orient TV, and Dubai-based al-Arabia TV.
The success of several Arab Spring revolutions offers a chance to establish greater freedom of expression in countries that were previously subject to very strict censorship, especially online. At the same time success in this effort is not certain. In response to these dramatic events and opportunities, in March 2011, Reporters Without Borders moved Tunisia
Internet censorship in Tunisia
Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube....
and Egypt from its "Internet enemies" list to its list of countries "under surveillance". At the same time there are warnings that Internet censorship might increase following the events of the Arab Spring.
Common targets
There are three primary motives or rationales for Internet censorship: politics and power, social norms and morals, and security concerns. Protecting intellectual property rights and existing economic interests are two additional motives for Internet censorship. In addition, networking tools and applications that allow the sharing of information related to these motives are often targeted. And while there is considerable variation from country to country, the blocking of Web sites in a local language is roughly twice that of Web sites available only in English or other international languages.Politics and power
Censorship directed at political opposition to the ruling government is common in authoritarian and repressive regimes. Some countries block Web sites related to religion and minority groups, often when these movements represent a threat to the ruling regimes.Examples include:
- PoliticalPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
blogs and Web sites - Lèse majestéLèse majestéLese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...
sites, sites with content that offends the dignity of or challenges the authority of a reigning sovereignSovereigntySovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
or of a stateSovereign stateA sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither... - Falun GongFalun GongFalun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
and Tibetan exile group sites in ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
or Buddist, Cao DaiCao DaiCao Đài is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ...
faith, and indigenous hill tribes sites in VietnamInternet censorship in VietnamVietnam extensively regulates Internet access to its citizens, using both legal and technical means. The collaborative project OpenNet Initiative classifies Vietnam's level of online political censorship to be "pervasive" while Reporters without Borders considers Vietnam one of 15 "internet enemies"... - Sites aimed at religious conversion from IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
Social norms and morals
Social filtering is censorship of topics that are held to be antithetical to accepted societalnorms. In particular censorship of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
and to protect children enjoys very widespread public support and such content is subject to censorship and other restrictions in most countries.
Examples include:
- Sex and eroticEroticismEroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
, fetishismFetishismA fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others...
, prostitutionProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, and pornographicAnti-pornography movementThe term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that pornography has a variety of harmful effects, such as encouragement of human trafficking, desensitization, pedophilia, dehumanization, sexual exploitation, sexual dysfunction, and inability to maintain healthy sexual...
sites - Child pornographyChild pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
and pedophile related sites (see also CIRCAMPCIRCAMPCIRCAMP is an abbreviation for Cospol Internet Related Child Abusive Material Project. CIRCAMP is one of many projects aimed at combating borderless or multinational crime in Europe...
) - Gay and Lesbian sites
- Sites seen as promoting illegal drug useSubstance abuseA substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
(ErowidErowidErowid, also called The Vaults of Erowid, is an online library of information about psychoactive plants and chemicals and other topics on altered states of consciousness such as meditation and lucid dreaming. It provides information about legal and illegal substances, including their desired and...
) - GamblingGamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
sites - Sites encouraging or inciting violenceViolenceViolence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
- Sites promoting criminal activity
- Sites that include hate speechHate speechHate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
- NaziNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and similar websites — particularly in FranceInternet censorship in FranceThere is very little Internet censorship in France, apart from limited filtering of child pornography and Web sites that promote terrorism or racial hatred, and attempts to protect copyright.-Overview:...
and GermanyInternet censorship in GermanyInternet censorship in Germany is practised by law as well as the effect of some court decisions.An example of content censored by law is the removal of web sites from Google search results that deny the holocaust, which is a felony under German law....
- Nazi
- Sites that contain blasphemousBlasphemyBlasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
content, particularly when directed at a majority or state supported religion - Sites that contain defamatory, slanderous, or libelous content
- Sites that include political satirePolitical satirePolitical satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
Security concerns
Internet filtering related to threats to national securityNational security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
that targets the Web sites of insurgents, extremists, and terrorists often enjoys wide public support.
Examples include:
- Blocking of pro–North Korean sites by South Korea
- Blocking sites of groups that foment domestic conflict in IndiaInternet censorship in IndiaInternet censorship in India is selectively practiced by both federal and state governments. While there is no sustained government policy or strategy to block access to Internet content on a large scale, measures for removing content that is obscene or otherwise objectionable, or that endangers...
- Blocking of sites devoted to the Balochi independence movementBalochistan conflictThe Balochistan conflict is an ongoing conflict between Baloch nationalists and the Government of Pakistan over Balochistan, the country's largest province...
by PakistanInternet censorship in PakistanInternet censorship in Pakistan is government control of information sent and received using the Internet.- Overview :The OpenNet Initiative listed Internet filtering in Pakistan as substantial in the social and conflict/security areas, as selective in the Internet tools area, and as suspected in... - Blocking of sites of the Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim BrotherhoodThe Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
in some countries in the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East... - Blocking WikileaksWikileaksWikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
- Blocking sites such as 4chan4chan4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
thought to be related to the group AnonymousAnonymous (group)Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
Protection of intellectual property and existing economic interests
Sites that share content that violates copyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
or other intellectual property rights are often blocked, particularly in western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In addition the protection of existing economic interests is sometimes the motivation for blocking new Internet services such as low-cost telephone services that use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). These services can reduce the customer base of telecommunications companies, many of which enjoy entrenched monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
positions and some of which are government sponsored or controlled.
Examples include:
- Filesharing and Peer-to-peerPeer-to-peerPeer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
(P2P) related websites such as The Pirate BayThe Pirate BayThe Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent... - SkypeSkypeSkype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
Network tools
Blocking the intermediate tools and applications of the Internet that can be used to assist users in accessing and sharing sensitive material is common in many countries.Examples include:
- Media sharing websiteMedia sharingMedia sharing occurs through online social networks and digital communities with a comprehensive platform and diversified interfaces to aggregate, upload, compress, host and distribute images, text, applications, videos, audio, games and new media. As media is shared it takes on a variety of...
s (e.g. FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
and YouTube) - Social networksSocial network serviceA social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
(e.g. FacebookCensorship of FacebookCensorship of Facebook has occurred because of the open nature of Facebook; several countries have interfered with or banned access to it, including Syria, China, Iran, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.-China:...
and MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
) - Translation sites and tools
- E-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
providers - Web hosting sites
- Blog hosting sites such as Blogspot
- MicrobloggingMicrobloggingMicroblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size...
sites such as TwitterCensorship of TwitterCensorship of Twitter has generally occurred in countries with a history of Internet censorship.-China:Twitter is banned in China; however, many Chinese people use it anyway...
and WeiboSina WeiboSina Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the USA... - WikipediaCensorship of WikipediaCensorship of Wikipedia has occurred in several countries, typically those with a history of Internet censorship.-China:Blocking of Wikipedia by the People's Republic of China first occurred on June 2, 2004 when access to the Chinese Wikipedia from Beijing was blocked on the 15th anniversary of the...
- Censorship circumvention sitesInternet censorship circumventionInternet censorship circumvention is the process used by technologically savvy Internet users to bypass the technical aspects of Internet filtering and gain access to otherwise censored material....
- AnonymizerAnonymizerAn anonymizer or an anonymous proxy is a tool that attempts to make activity on the Internet untraceable.It is a proxy server computer that acts as an intermediary and privacy shield between a client computer and the rest of the Internet...
s - Proxy avoidance sitesProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
- Anonymizer
- Search engines such as BingBingBing is a web search engine from Microsoft.Bing may also refer to:* An onomatopœia of a bell sound* Bing cherry, a variety of cherry* Bing , Chinese flatbread* Bing , a German company that manufactured toys and kitchen utensils...
and GoogleGoogle and censorshipGoogle and censorship may refer to:*Censorship by Google, willful censorship by Google of content within its services and websites*Censorship of Google, blocking or filtering of Google services or websites by outside entities, notably in the past and present policies of Internet censorship in the...
- particularly in ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
and Cuba
Non-technical censorship
Internet content is subject to censorship methods similar to those used with more traditional media. For example:- Laws and regulations may prohibit various types of content and/or require that content be removed or blocked either proactively or in response to requests.
- Publishers, authors, and ISPs may receive formal and informal requests to remove, alter, slant, or block access to specific sites or content.
- Publishers and authors may accept bribes to include, withdraw, or slant the information they present.
- Publishers, authors, and ISPs may be subject to arrest, criminal prosecution, fines, and imprisonment.
- Publishers, authors, and ISPs may be subject to civil lawsuits.
- Equipment may be confiscated and/or destroyed.
- Publishers and ISPs may be closed or required licenses may be withheld or revoked.
- Publishers, authors, and ISPs may be subject to boycotts.
- Publishers, authors, and their families may be subject to threats, attacks, beatings, and even murder.
- Publishers, authors, and their families may be threatened with or actually lose their jobs.
- Individuals may be paid to write articles and comments in support of particular positions or attacking opposition positions, usually without acknowledging the payments to readers and viewers.
- Censors may create their own online publications and Web sites to guide online opinion.
- Access to the Internet may be limited due to restrictive licensing policies or high costs.
- Access to the Internet may be limited due to a lack of the necessary infrastructure, deliberate or not.
Approaches
Internet content is also subject to technical censorship methods, including:- Internet Protocol (IP) address blocking: Access to a certain IP addressIP addressAn Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
is denied. If the target Web site is hosted in a shared hosting serverShared web hosting serviceA shared web hosting service or virtual hosting service or derive host refers to a web hosting service where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet. Each site "sits" on its own partition, or section/place on the server, to keep it separate from other sites...
, all websites on the same server will be blocked. This affects IP-based protocols such as HTTPHypertext Transfer ProtocolThe Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web....
, FTPFile Transfer ProtocolFile Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
and POPPost Office ProtocolIn computing, the Post Office Protocol is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection. POP and IMAP are the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval. Virtually all modern...
. A typical circumvention method is to find proxiesProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
that have access to the target websites, but proxies may be jammed or blocked, and some Web sites, such as WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
(when editing), also block proxies. Some large websites such as GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
have allocated additional IP addresses to circumvent the block, but later the block was extended to cover the new addresses. - Domain name system (DNS) filtering and redirection: Blocked domain nameDomain nameA domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
s are not resolved or an incorrect IP address is returned. This affects all IP-based protocols such as HTTP, FTP and POP. A typical circumvention method is to find a Alternative DNS rootAlternative DNS rootThe Internet uses the Domain Name System to associate the names of computers with their numeric IP addresses and with other information. The top level of the domain name hierarchy, the DNS root, contains the top-level domains that appear as the suffixes of all Internet domain names. The official...
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. Examples are modifying the Hosts fileHosts fileThe hosts file is a computer file used in an operating system to map hostnames to IP addresses. The hosts file is a plain-text file and is conventionally named hosts.-Purpose:...
or typing the IP address instead of the domain name as part of a URL given to a Web browserWeb browserA web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. - Uniform Resource Locator filtering: URLUniform Resource LocatorIn computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
strings are scanned for target keywords regardless of the domain name specified in the URL. This affects the HTTPHypertext Transfer ProtocolThe Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web....
protocol. Typical circumvention methods are to use escaped charactersPercent-encodingPercent-encoding, also known as URL encoding, is a mechanism for encoding information in a Uniform Resource Identifier under certain circumstances. Although it is known as URL encoding it is, in fact, used more generally within the main Uniform Resource Identifier set, which includes both Uniform...
in the URL, or to use encrypted protocols such as VPNVirtual private networkA virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
and TLS/SSLTransport Layer SecurityTransport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
. - Packet filtering: Terminate TCPTransmission Control ProtocolThe Transmission Control Protocol is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. TCP is one of the two original components of the suite, complementing the Internet Protocol , and therefore the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP...
packet transmissions when a certain number of controversial keywords are detected. This affects all TCP-based protocols such as HTTP, FTP and POP, but Search engine results pageSearch engine results pageA search engine results page , is the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query. The results normally include a list of web pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short description showing where the Keywords have matched content within the page...
s are more likely to be censored. Typical circumvention methods are to use encrypted connections - such as VPN and TLS/SSL - to escape the HTML content, or by reducing the TCP/IPInternet protocol suiteThe Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks. It is commonly known as TCP/IP from its most important protocols: Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol , which were the first networking protocols defined in this...
stackProtocol stackThe protocol stack is an implementation of a computer networking protocol suite. The terms are often used interchangeably. Strictly speaking, the suite is the definition of the protocols, and the stack is the software implementation of them....
's MTUMaximum transmission unitIn computer networking, the maximum transmission unit of a communications protocol of a layer is the size of the largest protocol data unit that the layer can pass onwards. MTU parameters usually appear in association with a communications interface...
/MSSMaximum segment sizeThe maximum segment size is a parameter of the TCP protocol that specifies the largest amount of data, specified in octets, that a computer or communications device can receive in a single TCP segment, and therefore in a single IP datagram. It does not count the TCP header or the IP header...
to reduce the amount of text contained in a given packet. - Connection reset: If a previous TCPTransmission Control ProtocolThe Transmission Control Protocol is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. TCP is one of the two original components of the suite, complementing the Internet Protocol , and therefore the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP...
connection is blocked by the filter, future connection attempts from both sides can also be blocked for some variable amount of time. Depending on the location of the block, other users or websites may also be blocked, if the communication is routedRoutingRouting is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic. Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the telephone network , electronic data networks , and transportation networks...
through the blocking location. A circumvention method is to ignore the reset packet sent by the firewall. - Full block: 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). This appears to have been the case on 27/28 January 2011 during the 2011 Egyptian protests, in what has been widely described as an "unprecedented" internet block. About 3500 Border Gateway ProtocolBorder Gateway ProtocolThe Border Gateway Protocol is the protocol backing the core routing decisions on the Internet. It maintains a table of IP networks or 'prefixes' which designate network reachability among autonomous systems . It is described as a path vector protocol...
(BGP) routes to Egyptian networks were shut down from about 22:10 to 22:35 UTC 27 January. This full block was implemented without cutting off major intercontinental fibre-optic links, with Renesys stating on 27 January, "Critical European-Asian fiber-optic routes through Egypt appear to be unaffected for now." Full blocks also occurred in Myanmar/Burma in 2007 and LibyaFree speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil warFree speech in the media during the 2011 Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war....
in 2011. - Portal censorship and search result removal: Major portals, including search engineSearch engineA search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
s, may exclude web sites that they would ordinarily include. This renders a site invisible to people who do not know where to find it. When a major portal does this, it has a similar effect as censorship. Sometimes this exclusion is done to satisfy a legal or other requirement, other times it is purely at the discretion of the portal. For example Google.de and Google.fr remove Neo-NaziNeo-NazismNeo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
and other listings in compliance with German and French law. - Computer network attacks: Denial-of-service attackDenial-of-service attackA denial-of-service attack or distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users...
s 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 techniques 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.
- See also Internet forum#Word censor and Anti-spam techniques#Detecting spam.
Over- and under-blocking
Technical censorship techniques are subject to both over- and under-blocking since it is often impossible to always block exactly the targeted content without blocking other permissible material or allowing some access to targeted material and so providing more or less protection than desired. An example is that automatic censorship against sexual words in matter for children, set to block the word "cuntCunt
Cunt is a vulgarism, primarily referring to the female genitalia, specifically the vulva, and including the cleft of Venus. The earliest citation of this usage in the 1972 Oxford English Dictionary, c 1230, refers to the London street known as Gropecunt Lane...
", has been known to block the Lincolnshire (UK) placename Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe Problem
The Scunthorpe problem occurs when a spam filter or search engine blocks e-mails or search results because their text contains a string of letters that are shared with an obscene word...
. Another example is blocking an IP-address of a server that hosts multiple websites, which prevents access to all of the websites rather than just those that contain content deemed offensive.
Major web portal official statements on site and content removal
Most major web service operators reserve to themselves broad rights to remove or pre-screen content, sometimes without giving a specific list or only a vague general list of the reasons allowing the removal. The phrases "at our sole discretion", "without prior notice", and "for other reasons" are common in Terms of Service agreements.- FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
: Among other things the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities says: "You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence", "You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory", "We can remove any content or information you post on Facebook if we believe that it violates this Statement", and "If you are located in a country embargoed by the United States, or are on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals you will not engage in commercial activities on Facebook (such as advertising or payments) or operate a Platform application or website". - Google SearchGoogle searchGoogle or Google Web Search is a web search engine owned by Google Inc. Google Search is the most-used search engine on the World Wide Web, receiving several hundred million queries each day through its various services....
: Google's Webmaster Tools help includes the following statement: "Google may temporarily or permanently remove sites from its index and search results if it believes it is obligated to do so by law, if the sites do not meet Google's quality guidelines, or for other reasons, such as if the sites detract from users' ability to locate relevant information." - TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
: The Twitter Terms of Service state: "We reserve the right at all times (but will not have an obligation) to remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services and to terminate users or reclaim usernames" and "We reserve the right to remove Content alleged to be [copyright] infringing without prior notice and at our sole discretion". - YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
: The YouTube Terms of Service include the statements: "YouTube reserves the right to decide whether Content violates these Terms of Service for reasons other than copyright infringement, such as, but not limited to, pornography, obscenity, or excessive length. YouTube may at any time, without prior notice and in its sole discretion, remove such Content and/or terminate a user's account for submitting such material in violation of these Terms of Service", "YouTube will remove all Content if properly notified that such Content infringes on another's intellectual property rights", and "YouTube reserves the right to remove Content without prior notice". - Wikipedia: Content within a Wikipedia article may be modified or deleted by any editor as part of the normal process of editing and updating articles. All editing decisions are open to discussion and review. The Wikipedia Deletion policy outlines the circumstances in which entire articles can be deleted. Any editor who believes a page doesn't belong in an encyclopedia can propose its deletion. Such a page can be deleted by any administrator if, after seven days, no one objects to the proposed deletion. Speedy deletion allows for the deletion of articles without discussion and is used to remove pages that are so obviously inappropriate for Wikipedia that they have no chance of surviving a deletion discussion. All deletion decisions may be reviewed, either informally or formally.
- Yahoo!Yahoo!Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
: Yahoo!'s Terms of Service (TOS) state: "You acknowledge that Yahoo! may or may not pre-screen Content, but that Yahoo! and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse, or remove any Content that is available via the Yahoo! Services. Without limiting the foregoing, Yahoo! and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable."
Use of commercial filtering software
Writing in 2009 Ronald DeibertRonald Deibert
Ronald J. Deibert is professor of Political Science, and Director of the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research and development "hothouse" working at the...
, professor of political science at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and co-founder and one of the principal investigators of the OpenNet Initiative
OpenNet Initiative
The OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run...
, and, writing in 2011, Evgeny Morzov, a visiting scholar at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and an Op-Ed contributor to the New York Times, explain that companies in the US, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
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.
Among the most popular filtering software programs is SmartFilter by Secure Computing
Secure Computing
Secure Computing Corporation, or SCC, was a public company that developed and sold computer security appliances and hosted services to protect users and data...
in California, which was bought by McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
in 2008. SmartFilter has been used by Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, the UAE, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, as well as the US and the UK. Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
have used filtering software from Websense
Websense
Websense is a San Diego-based company specializing in Web security gateway software. It enables clients to block access to chosen categories of websites.-History:Websense was founded by Phil Trubey in 1994...
. The Canadian-made
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
commercial filter Netsweeper is used in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, the UAE, and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
.
In a U.S. lawsuit filed in May 2011, Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
is accused of helping China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
build a firewall, known widely as the Golden Shield, to censor the Internet and keep tabs on dissidents. Cisco said it had made nothing special for China. Cisco is also accused of aiding the Chinese government in monitoring and apprehending members of the banned Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
group.
Many filtering programs allow blocking to be configured based on dozens of categories and sub-categories such as these from Websense: "abortion" (pro-life, pro-choice), "adult material" (adult content, lingerie and swimsuit, nudity, sex, sex education), "advocacy groups" (sites that promote change or reform in public policy, public opinion, social practice, economic activities, and relationships), "drugs" (abused drugs, marijuana, prescribed medications, supplements and unregulated compounds), "religion" (non-traditional religions occult and folklore, traditional religions), .... The blocking categories used by the filtering programs may contain errors leading to the unintended blocking of websites. The blocking of DailyMotion
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a video sharing service website, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement, Paris, France. According to Comscore, Dailymotion is the second largest video site in the world after YouTube....
in early 2007 by Tunisian authorities was, according to the OpenNet Initiative
OpenNet Initiative
The OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run...
, due to Secure Computing wrongly categorizing DailyMotion as pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
for its SmartFilter filtering software. It was initially thought that Tunisia had blocked DailyMotion due to satirical videos about human rights violations in Tunisia, but after Secure Computing corrected the mistake access to DailyMotion was gradually restored in Tunisia.
Regulations and accountability related to the use of commercial filters and services are typically non-existent, and there is no or little oversight from civil society or other independent groups. Vendors often consider information about what sites and content is blocked valuable intellectual property that is not made available outside the company, sometimes not even to the organizations purchasing the filters. Thus by relying upon out-of-the-box filtering systems, the detailed task of deciding what is or is not acceptable speech has been outsourced to the commercial vendors.
Circumvention
Internet censorship circumvention is the processes used by technologically savvy Internet users to bypass the technical aspects of Internet filtering and gain access to otherwise censored material. Circumvention is an inherent problem for those wishing to censor the Internet, because filtering and blocking do not remove content from the Internet and as long as there is at least one publicly accessible uncensored system, it will often be possible to gain access to otherwise censored material. However, circumvention may not be very useful to non tech-savvy users and so blocking and filtering remain effective means of censoring the Internet for many users.Different techniques and resources are used to bypass Internet censorship, including proxy websites
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
, virtual private network
Virtual private network
A virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
s, sneakernet
Sneakernet
Sneakernet is an informal term describing the transfer of electronic information, especially computer files, by physically couriering removable media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives, or external hard drives from one computer to another. This is usually in lieu...
s, and circumvention software tools. Solutions have differing ease of use, speed, security, and risks. Most, however, rely on gaining access to an Internet connection that is not subject to filtering, often in a different jurisdiction not subject to the same censorship laws.
There are risks to using circumvention software or other methods to bypass Internet censorship. In some countries individuals that gain access to otherwise restricted content may be violating the law and if caught can be expelled, fired, jailed, or subject to other punishments and loss of access.
In June 2011 the New York Times reported that the U.S. is engaged in a "global effort to deploy 'shadow' Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks."
See also
Organizations and projects:- Chilling Effects - A joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several U.S. university law schools and clinics
- CIRCAMPCIRCAMPCIRCAMP is an abbreviation for Cospol Internet Related Child Abusive Material Project. CIRCAMP is one of many projects aimed at combating borderless or multinational crime in Europe...
, Cospol Internet Related Child Abusive Material Project, a project of the European Chiefs of Police Task Force to combat commercial and organized distribution of child pornographyChild pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child... - Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
- An international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization - Financial Coalition Against Child PornographyFinancial Coalition Against Child PornographyThe Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography is a coalition of credit card issuers and Internet services companies that seeks to eliminate commercial child pornography by taking action on the payment systems that are used to fund these illegal operations....
- A coalition of credit card issuers and Internet services companies that seeks to eliminate commercial child pornography by taking action on the payment systems that fund these operations - Global Internet Freedom ConsortiumGlobal Internet Freedom ConsortiumThe Global Internet Freedom Consortium is a consortium of organizations that develop and deploy anti-censorship technologies for use by Internet users in countries whose governments restrict Web-based information access...
(GIFC) - A consortium of organizations that develop and deploy anti-censorship technologies - International Freedom of Expression ExchangeInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
(IEFX) - A global network of non-governmental organizations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression- Tunisia Monitoring GroupTunisia Monitoring GroupThe Tunisia Monitoring Group is a coalition of 21 free expression organisations that belong to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange , a global network of non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.The IFEX-TMG...
- A coalition within IFEX that monitors free expression in Tunisia
- Tunisia Monitoring Group
- Internet Governance ForumInternet Governance ForumThe Internet Governance Forum is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. It brings together all stakeholders in the internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the private sector or civil society, including the technical and academic...
(IGF) - A United Nations multi-stakeholder policy dialogue initiative - OpenNet InitiativeOpenNet InitiativeThe OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run...
- A joint project to monitor and report on Internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations - PeacefirePeacefirePeacefire is a U.S.-based website, with a registered address in Bellevue, Washington, dedicated to "preserving First Amendment rights for Internet users, particularly those younger than 18". It was founded in August 1996 by Bennett Haselton, who still runs it...
, a U.S.-based website dedicated to "preserving First Amendment rights for Internet users, particularly those younger than 18" - The Pirate Party - a political movement that aims to reform laws regarding copyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
and patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s, strengthen the right to privacy, and increase the transparency of state administrationTransparency (social)Transparency is a general quality. It is implemented by a set of policies, practices and procedures that allow citizens to have accessibility, usability, utility, understandability, informativeness and auditability of information and process held by centers of authority... - Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without BordersReporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
) - A France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press
Topics:
- Accountability softwareAccountability softwareAccountability software, or Internet accountability software, is a type of computer software that provides detailed reports that account for one's actions on the Internet.- Concept :...
- CleanfeedCleanfeed (content blocking system)Cleanfeed is the name given to privately administered ISP level content filtering systems operating in the United Kingdom and Canada. It is also the name of a proposed mandatory Australian ISP level content filtering system which is undergoing testing...
, a content blocking system in use in the UK and CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - Computer surveillanceComputer surveillanceComputer surveillance is the act of performing surveillance of computer activity, and of data stored on a hard drive or being transferred over the Internet....
- Content-control softwareContent-control softwareContent-control software, also known as censorware or web filtering software, is a term for software designed and optimized for controlling what content is permitted to a reader, especially when it is used to restrict material delivered over the Web...
- Cyber-dissidentCyber-dissidentA cyber-dissident is a professional journalist, an activist or citizen journalist who posts news, information, or commentary on the internet that implies criticism of a government or regime....
- For the children (politics)For The Children (politics)Citing the interests of children is a rationale that is sometimes given for why something should or should not be done.It can also be seen as:* a rationalization/justification* a political tool* a rhetorical phrase Citing the interests of children is a rationale that is sometimes given for why...
- Great Firewall of China
- Internet policeInternet policeInternet police is a generic term for police and secret police departments and other organizations in charge of policing Internet in a number of countries...
- Internet safety
- List of content-control software
- Parental controlsParental controlsParental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile phones and computer software...
- Political repression of cyber-dissidentsPolitical repression of cyber-dissidentsPolitical repression of cyber-dissidents is the oppression or persecution of people for expressing their political views in the Internet.Along with development of the Internet, state authorities in many parts of the world are moving forward to install mass surveillance of the electronic...
- River crab (Internet slang)River crab (Internet slang)River crab and Harmonious/Harmonize/Harmonization are Internet slangs created by Chinese netizens in reference to Internet censorship or the other censorship of China...
- Scientology versus the InternetScientology versus the Internet"Scientology versus the Internet" refers to a number of disputes relating to the Church of Scientology's efforts to suppress material critical of Scientology on the Internet through the use of lawsuits and legal threats. In late 1994, the Church of Scientology began using various legal tactics to...
- Sociology of the InternetSociology of the InternetThe sociology of the Internet involves the application of sociological theory and method to the Internet as a source of information and communication...
- SplinternetSplinternetSplinternet is a term used to describe the splintering and dividing of the Internet due to various factors, such as technology, commerce, politics, nationalism, and religion. "Powerful forces are threatening to balkanise it," writes the Economist weekly, and it may soon splinter along geographic...
External links
- Censorship Wikia, an anti-censorship site that catalogs past and present censored works, using verifiable sources, and a forum to discuss organizing against and circumventing censorship.
- How to Bypass Internet Censorship, also known by the titles: Bypassing Internet Censorship or Circumvention Tools, a FLOSSFlossFloss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
Manual, 10 March 2011, 240 pp. - "Index on Censorship", web site for the London based organization and magazine that promotes freedom of expression.
- Internet censorship wiki, provides information about different methods of access filtering and ways to bypass them.
- "Media Freedom Internet Cookbook" by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the MediaOSCE Representative on Freedom of the MediaThe OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media functions as a watchdog on media developments in all 56 participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe...
, Vienna, 2004.