Study: governments rise internet censorship
Governments are increasingly restricting their citizens from accessing certain Internet content or from using particular services according to a report from an international group of academic researchers. A study of Internet ‘filtering’ by the OpenNet Initiative – a collaborative effort involving researchers at Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford and Toronto universities – found evidence of it happening in 25 of the 40 countries investigated. Examples include “pervasive filtering as a central platform for shaping public knowledge” in China, Myanmar, Vietnam and Uzbekistan; broad filtering in Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen; more targeted filtering in Thailand and Pakistan; and selective filtering in Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, India, South Korea and Singapore.
The types of material being filtered varies, but includes pornography and other moral issues, hate speech, political opposition to the ruling party, material from countries on the other side of a conflict, or simply anything deemed ‘inappropriate.’ The research involved ‘in-country’ testing of lists of web sites considered to be provocative or objectionable for various reasons. Testing was repeated at different times and locations to distinguish filtering from connectivity problems. The OpenNet Initiative also found services such as Skype and Google Earth are being blocked by governments. The United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and New Zealand were not covered by the initial study. The OpenNet Initiative notes that various governments use non-filtering methods to control the publication and viewing of particular types of Internet content, or to record Internet use by ISPs’ customers. I have many experiences with web flitering – either from people who mail me because they can’t visit RLSLOG or NewTorrents (ISP blocking) or from governmental form of internet filtering, very common in China and other Asian countries, where you simply can’t access certain websites. Do you still believe the internet is so free and anonymous?
Comments(16)
We’re living in a world were freedom is on the decline, simple as that.
Freedom isn’t free at all. It comes at the highest cost.
The cost of JELL-O.
freedom is just another word for regular people being slaves to the government. they are taking away our rights in the name of anti-terrorism. Bullshit. It has nothing to do with terrorist, they been planning this shit forever.
They are fighting a war they can’t possibly win.
There are more people putting things on the net than people blocking it, unless they plan on employing an entire country worth of people to filter content there will always be freedom of information.
Things spread on the internet, once it’s there it’s too late.
@ omg – don’t underestimate what determined governments can do.
Tric it doesn’t matter how determined you are, if I have 5 people searching and blocking websites but 10 creating new ones, it is physically impossible.
Automated filtering does not work either, not only can it not be made to understand the complexities of what it is supposed to filter, but it’s easy to get around it anyway.
My point seems to be validated in reality, since China, no doubt one of the most determined governments trying to censor the internet still can’t stop the flow of content they deem inappropriate.
Well… You’re right, Znth, today’s technology isn’t adequate. But there are forces in this world who are working very hard to remedy that problem.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for freedom. I’m just being cynical at the same time. ^^
I think that as early as perhaps one can recall Governments tend to want to control the information flow to “guide” shape public perceptions, thought development, etc. Its not so strange at all.
Besides those affected can always revert to proxies and VPN and such right?
boo !
In Ireland all the schools have a stupid blocking thing.. Its blocked in different categories, porn, dating services, proxy avoidance and loads of other stupid things.. There is a category Unregistered, so i think that everysingle site is blocked in the first place, and then they allow the sites one by one insted of blocking one by one…. But anyway i’m able to get through it using PH Proxy in firefox… Works everytime like a charm.. Oh and Rlslog isnt blocked
Stupid foreign countries…i wish their leaders weren’t diabolical crazies, their people are brilliant and the world would progress much better…
Screw the government they can go fuck a sheep in a pit of mousetraps. All they do is take away our freedoms, Import foreigners and censor anything that moves. If you work for the government. FUCK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GateKeepeR: Iran is currently in love with Belarus. Come on, they can build their own, ultracensored network as well, isolated from the rest of the world. It would be interesting to watch, if some kind of release scene would emerge in such alternative internet… I think so.
and because I love the government so much FUCK YOU again
It’s funny actually because for all the so called “freedom, liberty and the American way” that the states push on the rest of the world – they are one of the most censored countries in the world.
Their news is filtered and they’ll black out boobs on TV but show someone’s throat cut on the news. Plus they ban video games and blame movies, yet they have no proper gun control. And they wonder why 85% of murders in the US are gun related.
What a strange world we live in!