Censored Planet
This is based on data which was aggregated by the Censored Planet. The Censored Planet is an internet control and censorship tracking system which was established in 2018 by a computer science professor from the University Of Michigan. The system collected more than 21 billion measurements over a time period of 20 months and consisted of data that was gathered from over 220 countries. The processor proclaims that the purpose of the system was to provide researchers with reliable data regarding the deployment of internet interference technologies and internet policy changes. The system detected that over 103 countries were deploying aggressive internet censorship policies.
Alarming Trend Amongst The World’s ‘Freest’ Countries
While censorship is common in places like Russia and China, the research team was surprised that democratic countries like Italy, India, Poland, Norway and Japan, were deploying aggressive internet control policies even though they were rated as being some of the freest countries in the world, by an advocacy group by the name of Freedom House. While the system detected increased blocking activity in the aforementioned countries, most of the changes were being driven by internet service providers and organizations, as opposed to politicians. Interestingly enough, the program did not detect much changes in China’s already strict, internet censorship laws, but it did notice an increase in blocking activity in the United States.
One of the researchers noted that, once the United States replaced net neutrality, it essentially opened up the opportunity for internet service providers to block or interfere with its users internet traffic. A prime example of this would be The Pirate Bay. While users are able to access it by using internet service providers like Xfinity and AT&T, people who use certain services like Dish Network, are not able to access sites like The Pirate Bay as a result of their company blocking policies.
Opaque Process
The researchers proclaimed that by looking at the total amount of data that was acquired in the last one and a half year, apparently, no country was safe from internet blocking policies. In fact, the researchers noted that a vast majority of countries that restrict internet access, started with legislation which forced service providers to block obscene content such as child abuse material. They proclaimed that once a blocking infrastructure was established for the sole purpose of obscene content, the government slowly began to block any website they wanted after the fact. The researchers also noted that in most cases, the process was very opaque in the sense that residents of said countries were not aware of what the government was doing.
A prime example of such would be to Norway. Even though countries like Sweden, Finland and Norway were regarded as Europe’s freest countries, they passed a set of laws that stipulated that service providers were to block pornography and gambling content back in 2018. However, towards the beginning of 2020, researchers proclaimed that their system started blocking websites that were not within the scope of pornography or gambling such as human rights websites like the Human Rights Watch as well as harmless dating sites like Match.com.
This opaque tactic of proclaiming that blocking is necessary to stop users from viewing obscene content, as to which governments extend that block to any website they choose, has routinely been used during the wake of significant political events and social unrest. However, the team of researchers noted that while internet blocking usually occurs during social unrest and political events, government demanded networking blocking isn’t the only thing that stops websites from being reached. During the G20 Summit of 2018, multiple internet networks in Japan blocked access to certain websites. But alas, a vast majority of internet censorship laws get introduced during significant events, such as Sri Lanka, who blocked social media sites after it experienced a series of bombing attacks, and India, who blocked dating websites as a result of the cancellation of laws that forbid gay sex.
The scientists say that the findings demonstrated the effectiveness and importance of Censored Planet’s tracking system which essentially turns internet service providers around the world into sentries that monitor and report website blocking activity. While some experts argue that internet censorship is good for the health of the internet, such as to identify illegal activities, when you look at the bigger picture, internet censorship provides more problems than solutions.
Government Control
One of the negative effects of censorship is that freedom of expression eventually collapses. Back in 2009, Iran started deploying aggressive policies that allowed them to arrest and execute anyone who disagreed with them on the internet. Even social media postings and bloggers were treated like criminals as a result of the fact that the Government used the internet to censor and subsequently track and apprehend them, crushing their freedom of expression. And while many people argue that individuals can easily circumvent blocking measures in any country, in all actuality, the level of censorship Iran’s inhabitants face is so severe that it’s virtually impossible for them to use TOR or any kind of tool that enables anonymous browsing/communication for that matter.
Restricts People From Sharing Their Own Opinion
Imagine what it would be like to be unable to simply express your opinion? One of the worst things about internet censorship laws is that eventually, if left unchecked ,it gets to the point where it restricts the right of people to share their own opinions. While some argue that a certain degree of censorship is needed to stem the wave of racial slurs, obscene content and calls to violence that are thrown around on the internet every day, the reality of the fact is that if we restrict everything that someone finds offensive, we’ll eventually end up with nothing left to share. Therefore, we have to remain vigilant and ensure that we maintain our rights to be able to access the open internet, without restrictions.