How to by-pass Net censorship
p2pnet news | Freedom:- We’ve just had an interesting email from Ron Deibert, director the Citizen Lab and OpenNet Initiative co-principal investigator.
You’ll notice this at the bottom of each and every p2pnet post:
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for the official download, and here for details.
It’s been there for a long time and Deibert’s email means we’ll be adding another line.
Because Citizen Lab’s has now finished its Internet censorship circumvention guide intended for non-technical users.
Called Everyone’s Guide to By-Passing Internet Censorship for Citizens Worldwide, it’s a 29-page booklet designed to help people get around International online censorship.
It introduces non-technical users to Internet censorship circumvention technologies, and helps them choose which of them best suits their particular circumstances and needs.
Once upon a time it was assumed states couldn’t control Net communications. But OpenNet Initiative research proved differently, revealing more than 25 countries now routinely carry out censorship.
“Those with the most pervasive filtering policies have been found to routinely block access to human rights organizations, news, blogs, and web services that challenge the status quo or are deemed threatening or undesirable,” says the new Citizen Lab compilation, going on:
Others block access to single categories of Internet content, or intermittently to specific websites or network services to coincide with strategic events, such as elections or public demonstrations.
Although some states enact Internet filtering legislation, most do so with little or no transparency and public accountability. Most states do not reveal what information is being blocked, and rarely are there review or grievance mechanisms for affected citizens or content publishers. Compounding the problem is the increasing use of commercial filtering software, which is prone to over-blocking due to faulty categorization.
Commercial filters block access to categorized lists of websites that are kept secret for proprietary reasons, even for customers. As a consequence, unaccountable private companies determine censorship rules in political environments where there is little public accountability or oversight. For example, commercial filtering software is used to censor the Internet in Burma, Tunisia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
With the introduction of the guide, the line at the bottom of each p2pnet story will now read:
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for the official download, and here for details. And click here or here to learn what technologies may help you by-pass censorship in your area.
Meanwhile, “There’s a companion guide yet to come on how to publish information online targeted for censorship, and we’re working on having this guide translated into multiple languages,” says Deibert.
So definitely stay tuned.
Also See:
routinely carry out censorship – State-led Net censorship on the rise, May 22, 2007
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Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for the official download, and here for details. And click here or here to learn what technologies may help you by-pass censorship in your area.
