THE INTERNET
• The Internet is a giant system made up of
much smaller systems. If it's one thing,
does it have a single owner? Is there
some person or entity that controls the
Internet? Is it possible for someone to
own something that spans nations and
oceans? Keep reading to find out.
FREE IN WHAT SENSE
?
• The open Internet is central to people's freedom to
communicate, share, advocate and innovate in the
21st century. But powerful interests want to censor
free speech, block the sharing of information, hinder
innovation and control how Internet users get
online. All too often, people in power are making
political decisions behind closed doors about how
the Internet should operate — and they're doing this
without the involvement of actual Internet users.
The result is policies that could close down the open
Internet and destroy our freedom to connect.
• Furthermore, corporations and their allies in
government have repeatedly sought to create
policies that would give them control over what
we do, say, read and watch online. The push to
pass SOPA and PIPA was simply one of the more
high-visible examples of this. While it's always
important to beat back these threats when they
occur, we also need to be proactive to protect the
free and open Internet. That means supporting
positive visions like the one embodied in the
Declaration of Internet Freedom.
• The Declaration was drafted by a coalition of
dozens of organizations, companies and
individuals — including the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, Free Press, Mozilla and the Center
for Democracy & Technology — that played key
roles in the fight to stop SOPA and PIPA, two
anti-piracy bills that would have irrevocably
harmed the open Internet. This coalition is
diverse and post-partisan. It reflects many
different viewpoints, political persuasions and
geographic world views.
FOR ISOC; We believe in building an
open Internet THAT IS TOTALLY FREE
WE MUST Protect the Free and Open
Web!
• For more information, check out these sites:
http://www.internetdeclaration.org/
http://www.savetheinternet.com/resource/988
43/what-declaration-internet-freedom
https://www.eff.org/
http://www.freepress.net/
http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/
https://www.cdt.org/
• Without ARPANET, the Internet wouldn't
look or behave the way it does today -- it
might not even exist. Although other
groups were working on ways to
network computers, ARPANET
established the protocols used on the
Internet today. Moreover, without
ARPANET, it may have taken many more
years before anyone tried to find ways to
join regional networks together into a
larger system.
• Several organizations and committees formed to
help shape the Internet into what it is today.
They included the Internet Activities Board,
the Federal Research Internet
Coordinating Committee and the Federal
Networking Council among others. These
groups worked to establish the rules and
standards that make it possible for different
computer networks to work together
• In 1973, engineers began to look at ways to connect
ARPANET to the packet radio network (PRNET). A
packet radio network connects computers through radio
transmitters and receivers. Instead of sending data
across phone lines, the computers use radio waves. It
took three years, but in 1976 engineers successfully
connected the two networks [source: SRI].
• Technicians joined the Satellite Network (SATNET) to
the other two networks in 1977. They called the
connection between multiple networks internetworking, or the Internet for short. Other early
computer networks soon joined. They included
USENET, BITNET, CSNET and NSFNET.
• In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee developed a system
designed to simplify navigation on the Internet.
In time, this system became known as the
World Wide Web. It didn't take long for some
people to mistakenly identify the Internet and
the Web as the same thing. The Internet is a
global interconnection of computer networks;
the World Wide Web is a way to navigate this
massive network. In sailing terms, it's like
comparing an ocean to a ship.
• Most early Internet users were government and
military employees, graduate students and
computer scientists. Using the World Wide Web,
the Internet became much more accessible.
Colleges and universities began to connect to the
Internet, and businesses soon followed. By 1994,
Internet commerce had become a reality.
• Today, the Internet is more complex than ever.
It connects computers, satellites, mobile devices
and other gadgets together in a massive network
millions of times more intricate than the original
ARPANET. And to think, we owe it all to a silver
beeping ball that once orbited miles above the
Earth's surface.
• The first four computers in ARPANET all used
different operating systems. The system's designers
had to come up with a common set of rules the
network would follow in order for the computers to
communicate with each other without crashing the
system. These rules are called protocols. The first
set of protocols was collectively called the Network
Control Protocol (NCP). In 1983, ARPANET
switched to the Transmission Control Protocol
and Internet Protocol suite (TCP/IP), the same
set of rules the Internet follows today.
• Internet censorship is the control or
suppression of what can be accessed, published,
or viewed on the internet. It may be carried out
by governments, private organizations at the
behest of government, regulators, or on their
own initiative. Individuals and organizations
may engage in self-censorship for moral,
religious, or business reasons, to conform to
societal norms, due to intimidation, or out of
fear of legal or other consequences.
• Opinions on the topic of Internet censorship vary,
with arguments being made both for and against
censorship. It is a controversial topic in which both
sides have valid points. Moreover, the extent of
Internet censorship varies on a country-to-country
basis. While some countries 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 also
occurs in response to or in anticipation of events
such as elections, protests, and riots. An example is
the increased censorship due to the events of the
Arab Spring. Other areas of censorship includes
copyrights, defamation, harassment, and obscene
material
INTERNET CENSORSHIP BY COUNTRY
.
 Pervasive censorship
 Substantial censorship
• Selective censorship
• Under surveillance by Reporters Without
Borders
• Little or no censorship
• Not classified / no data
• As more people in more places begin using the Internet for important activities, there
is an increase in online censorship, using increasingly 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 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 infringement
of intellectual property rights are blocked in many countries throughout the world.[11
• In fact, many countries throughout the world, including some 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.[12] Countries such as China are establishing programs that utilize censorship
in a very selective way in order to protect the morals of the country by censoring
certain material, while also fostering economic growth through online trade and this
system can be used as a potential solution for many nations in the world facing
problems with internet censorship.
"Internet enemies" and "countries
under surveillance" lists
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Enemies of the Internet:
Armenia
Bahrain
Belarus
Burma
People's Republic of China
Cuba
Iran
North Korea
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
"Internet enemies" and "countries
under surveillance" lists
• When the "Enemies of the Internet" list was
introduced in 2006, it listed 13 countries. From
2006 to 2012 the number of countries listed fell
to 10 and then rose to 12. Belarus, Egypt, and
Tunisia moved to the "Countries under
surveillance" list in 2009, 2011, and 2011
respectively. Belarus moved back and Bahrain
was added to the list in 2012.
"Internet enemies" and "countries
under surveillance" lists
• Countries Under Surveillance:[10]
• Australia
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Egypt
Eritrea
France
India
Kazakhstan
Malaysia
Russia
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
• When the "Countries under surveillance" list was
introduced in 2008, it listed 10 countries. Between 2008
and 2012 the number of countries listed grew to 16 and
then fell to 14. In addition to the moves to and from the
"Enemies of the Internet" list noted earlier, Jordan in
2009, Tajikistan in 2009, and Yemen in 2010 were
dropped from the list and Australia in 2009, France in
2011, Russia in 2010, South Korea in 2009, Turkey in
2010 were added. 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,
added again in 2011, and then dropped in 2012.
Venezuela was added in 2011 and then dropped in 2012.
Who Is Censoring The Internet?
What Is Being Censored On The Internet?
How Is The Internet Being Censored?
Why Are They Censoring The Internet?
• One of the early nicknames for the Internet was
the "information superhighway" because it was
supposed to provide the average person with fast
access to a practically limitless amount of data.
For many users, that's exactly what accessing the
Internet is like. For others, it's as if the
information superhighway has some major
roadblocks in the form of Internet
censorship.
• The motivations for censorship range from wellintentioned desires to protect children from
unsuitable content to authoritarian attempts to
control a nation's access to information. No
matter what the censors' reasons are, the end
result is the same: They block access to the Web
pages they identify as undesirable.
• Internet censorship isn't just a parental or governmental
tool. There are several software products on the
consumer market that can limit or block access to
specific Web sites. Most people know these programs as
Web filters. Censorship opponents have another name
for them: Censorware.
• While there are some outspoken supporters and
opponents of Internet censorship, it's not always easy to
divide everyone into one camp or another. Not everyone
uses the same tactics to accomplish goals. Some
opponents of censorship challenge government policies
in court. Others take the role of information freedom
fighters, providing people with clandestine ways to
access information.
• There's no denying that the Internet contains a lot of material that
most parents wouldn't want their children to see. Whether it's
pornography, hate speech, chat rooms or gambling sites, many
parents worry that their children will be exposed to negative or even
dangerous content. While some opponents of censorship may feel
that parental supervision is the best way to keep kids safe online,
many parents point out that it's difficult -- if not impossible -- to
oversee a child's access to the Internet all the time.
• Many parents turn to software and hardware solutions to this
problem. They can purchase Web filtering programs like Net Nanny
or CYBERsitter to block access to undesirable Web sites. These
programs usually have a series of options parents can select to limit
the sites their children can access. These options tell the program
which filters to enable. For example, CYBERsitter has 35 filter
categories, including pornography and social networking sites
[source: CYBERsitter].
• Most Web filters use two main techniques to block
content: Blacklists and keyword blocking. A
blacklist is a list of Web sites that the Web filter's
creators have designated as undesirable. Blacklists
change over time, and most companies offer
updated lists for free. Any attempt to visit a site on a
blacklist fails. With keyword blocking, the software
scans a Web page as the user tries to visit it. The
program analyzes the page to see if it contains
certain keywords. If the program determines the
Web page isn't appropriate, it blocks access to the
page.
• Another option for parents is to install a firewall. A computer
firewall provides protection from dangerous or undesirable
content. Firewalls can be software or hardware. They act as a
barrier between the Internet and your computer network.
They only let safe content through and keep everything else
out. Firewalls require a little more involvement from the
network administrator (in this case, a parent) than Web
filtering software. Tech-savvy parents might not have a
problem installing and maintaining a firewall. Others prefer
to use Web filters, which do most of the work for them.
• Have you ever tried to access a Web site at your workplace
only to receive an intimidating message? Some companies
limit the kinds of sites employees can visit. Learn about
Internet censorship from the corporate standpoint on the next
page
• Corporations that restrict employee Internet access
usually do so for a few reasons. One of the most common
reasons is to increase productivity. While employees can
use the Internet for research or communication, they
may also use it as a distraction. Some companies restrict
Internet access severely in order to prevent employees
from wasting time online.
• Another corporate concern is harassment. Without
restrictions, an employee could surf the Web for
inappropriate content, such as pornography. If other
employees see this material, they may feel that their
work environment is a hostile one. Some companies
resort to using Internet censorship in order to avoid
lawsuits.
• While several companies use Web filtering software
similar to the products available for home use, many
also rely on firewalls. With a firewall, a company can
pick and choose which Web pages or even entire
domains to block. This way, the company is more
likely to avoid blocking sites that employees may
need to access legitimately.
• At many workplaces, when an employee attempts to
access a restricted Web site, he or she will see a
message that says the network administrator has
identified the site as inappropriate. Usually the
message includes the option to petition the network
administrator if the user feels the site is wrongfully
blocked. The network administrator can adjust
which sites are restricted through firewall settings.
INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
(ISPS)
• What about the corporations that provide Internet
access, such as telecom and cable companies? They
can play a crucial role in what content customers
can access on the Internet. In the United States,
there's an ongoing battle over a concept called net
neutrality. In a nutshell, net neutrality refers to a
level playing ground where Internet service
providers (ISPs) allow access to all content
without favoring any particular company or Web
site. Telecom and cable companies successfully
petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss net
neutrality [source: ACLU].
• Without net neutrality, ISPs can charge content
providers a fee for bandwidth usage. Content
providers that pay the fee will get more
broadband access, meaning their Web sites will
load faster than competitors who didn't pay the
fee. For example, if Yahoo pays a fee to an ISP
and Google didn't, the ISP's customers would
discover that Yahoo's search engine loads much
faster than Google's. Supporters of net neutrality
argue that such preferential treatment amounts
to censorship.
• Keep reading to learn how some nations try to
dictate the kind of content citizens access
SEARCH ENGINE CENSORSHIP
• Most search engines self-censor their search engine
results pages (SERPs) in an effort to provide users with
relevant search terms. This is necessary because some
webmasters try to trick search engines into giving their
Web pages high SERP ranks. If the search engines didn't
weed out and censor these pages, every SERP would be
filled with irrelevant results.
• Recently, censorship opponents have criticized search
engine companies like Yahoo and Google for helping
restrictive countries maintain control of the Internet.
The companies are in a delicate position -- although
headquartered in the United States, they still need to
obey local laws when operating in other countries.
BEYOND THE NET
• Sometimes the fight moves from the online world to
the real one. In 2006, a group of men attacked
United States citizen Peter Yuan Li in his Atlanta
home. Li was an anti-censorship activist and a
practitioner of Falun Gong, a spiritual following
similar to Buddhism. Li maintained Web sites that
criticized China's Communist party. His assailants
bound him and demanded to know where he stored
his information. They beat Li severely and stole two
laptop computers, leaving other valuables
untouched. Li believed the men were sent by the
Chinese government to silence him [source: Forbes
Internet Censorship at the
International Level
• Many countries restrict access to content on the
Internet on some level. Even the United States
has laws that impact the kind of information you
can access on the Internet in a school or public
library. Some countries go much further than
that -- and a few don't allow any access to the
Internet at all.
• The OpenNet Initiative (ONI), an organization
dedicated to informing the public about Web filtering
and surveillance policies around the world, classifies
Web filtering into four categories:
• Political: Content that includes views contrary to the respective
country's policies. The political category also includes content
related to human rights, religious movements and other social
causes
• Social: Web pages that focus on sexuality, gambling, drugs and
other subjects that a nation might deem offensive
• Conflict/Security: Pages that relate to wars, skirmishes, dissent
and other conflicts
• Internet tools: Web sites that offer tools like e-mail, instant
messaging, language translation applications and ways to
circumvent censorship
• Countries like the United States are fairly liberal,
with policies that restrict only a few Web pages,
but other countries are stricter. According to
Reporters Without Borders, an organization
dedicated to promoting free expression and the
safety of journalists, the following countries have
the strongest censorship policies:
the following countries have the
strongest censorship policies:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Belarus
China
Cuba
Egypt
Iran
Myanmar
North Korea
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
• Some countries go well beyond restricting access.
The Myanmar government allegedly keeps Internet
cafés under surveillance with computers that
automatically take screenshots every few minutes.
China has an advanced filtering system known
internationally as the Great Firewall of China. It
can search new Web pages and restrict access in
real time. It can also search blogs for subversive
content and block Internet users from visiting them.
Cuba has banned private Internet access completely
-- to get on the Internet, you have to go to a public
access point.
• There are several organizations dedicated to ending
Internet censorship. Find out more about them on
the next page.
• In 2000, the United States Congress enacted the
Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
into law. The law imposes restrictions on
Internet access in schools and public libraries
that receive funding from the E-rate program,
which makes certain technologies more
affordable for schools and libraries. Critics of the
law say that the act violates the First
Amendment to the Constitution. In 2003, the
Supreme Court upheld CIPA in a 5 to 4 decision
[source: Supreme Court].
OPPONENTS OF INTERNET CENSORSHIP
• In addition to the thousands of people who combat censorship
through blogs every day, there are several organizations that
raise awareness about Internet censorship. Some are formal
organizations with prestigious memberships, while others are
looser groups that aren't above advocating a guerilla approach
to getting around strict policies.
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an adamant
opponent of Internet censorship. The ACLU has filed
numerous lawsuits in order to overturn censorship laws. In
2007, the ACLU convinced a federal court that the
Children's Online Protection Act (COPA) was
unconstitutional. COPA was a law that made it illegal to
present material online that was deemed harmful to minors,
even if it included information valuable to adults [source:
ACLU].
• The OpenNet Initiative is a group that strives to provide information to
the world about the ways countries allow or deny citizens access to
information. The initiative includes departments at the University of
Toronto, the Harvard Law School, Oxford University and the University of
Cambridge. On ONI's Web page you can find an interactive map that shows
which countries censor the Internet.
• Reporters Without Borders also concerns itself with Internet
censorship, although the group's scope extends beyond Internet practices.
The group maintains a list of "Internet enemies," countries that have the
most severe Internet restrictions and policies in place [source: Reporters
Without Borders].
• The Censorware Project has been around since 1997. Its mission is to
educate people about Web filtering software and practices. At its Web site,
you can find investigative reports about all the major Web filter programs
available on the market as well as essays and news reports about
censorship. A similar site is Peacefire.org, which began as a site dedicated
to protecting free speech on the Internet for young people.
• Other groups offer advice on how to disable or circumvent censorware.
Some advocate using proxy sites. A proxy site is a Web page that allows
you to browse the Web without using your own Internet protocol (IP)
address. You visit the proxy site, which includes a form into which you type
the URL of the restricted sites you want to visit. The proxy site retrieves the
information and displays it. Outsiders can only see that you've visited the
proxy site, not the sites you've pulled up.