Overblocking

July 2011 Summary OpenNet Initiative researchers examined allegations that email messages sent from Apple’s MobileMe service are being censored because of sensitive political content. This brief concludes that Apple is not censoring because of political content; messages are likely being dropped because of overzealous...

- Posted on 15/Jul/2011; tagged in United States/Canada, Overblocking

ONI Blog: A Moment in Time: A Very Short History of Content Regulation

Renata Uitz of Central European University welcomes Rob Faris, research director of the Berkman Center and the OpenNet Initiative. "A bunch of smart people invented the internet," says Faris, highlighting the wonderful ways in which the Internet brought millions of people together. "People...

- Posted on 21/Sep/2010; tagged in ONI, Political filtering, Social filtering, Internet tools filtering, Overblocking, IP blocking, Filtering tech and software

Report: Policing Content in the Quasi-Public Sphere

September 2010 Authored by Jillian C. York, with contributions from Robert Faris and Ron Deibert, and editorial assistance from Rebekah Heacock To view this bulletin as a PDF, click here. Introduction Online conversations today exist primarily in the realm of social media and blogging platforms,...

- Posted on 20/Sep/2010; tagged in United States/Canada, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, Human rights, Publications, ONI, Social filtering, Overblocking

ONI Blog: Pakistan Lifts Facebook Ban; Bangladesh Cracks Down

As Pakistan lifted a two-week long ban on Facebook Monday, Bangladesh began blocking the site. Both bans followed the creation of a Facebook group promoting "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," an event that encourages participants to submit artistic representations of the prophet...

- Posted on 01/Jun/2010; tagged in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Arrests and legal action, Obscenity, Hate speech, Social filtering, Overblocking

ONI Blog: Facebook Blocked in Pakistan Following "Draw Mohammad Day" Competition

Last month, following controversy over Comedy Central's decision not to show a depiction of the prophet Mohammad on the popular TV show South Park, Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris came up with the idea for "Draw Mohammad Day," to assert the right...

- Posted on 19/May/2010; tagged in United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Hate speech, Political filtering, Social filtering, Overblocking

ONI Blog: ONI Releases 2009 Year in Review: Filtering, Surveillance, Information Warfare

The OpenNet Initiative is proud to release its 2009 Year in Review, a look into instances of filtering, surveillance, and information warfare around the world in 2009. The events of 2009 demonstrated a global rise in third-generation Internet controls. ...

- Posted on 03/Feb/2010; tagged in United States/Canada, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Legislation, Non-filtering content restrictions, Obscenity, Search result removal, Human rights, Cybercrime and security, Publications, ONI, Political filtering, Social filtering, Conflict and security filtering, Internet tools filtering, Voluntary filtering, Reverse filtering, Overblocking, DNS tampering, IP blocking, Proxy blocking, Filtering tech and software

ONI Blog: More than half a billion Internet users are being filtered worldwide

The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) has been monitoring Internet filtering around the world since 2002. Currently, more than 40 countries are filtering the Internet to varying degrees, while a number of others, including Australia, Iraq, and Spain, are considering enacting filtering policies....

- Posted on 19/Jan/2010; tagged in North Korea, Iraq, Germany, Russia, Australia, United Kingdom, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Human rights, Political filtering, Social filtering, Conflict and security filtering, Overblocking, IP blocking, Proxy blocking

ONI Blog: Overblocking in Oman

The OpenNet Initiative recently released new profiles for a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including updates of previously researched countries. In one such country, Oman, our research found there to be significant social filtering, as well as...

- Posted on 08/Sep/2009; tagged in Oman, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Political filtering, Social filtering, Overblocking, Filtering tech and software

ONI Blog: Australia's Conroy named Internet Villain of the Year

Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy has come under fire from Australian citizens and digital activists around the world for his attempts to increase Internet filtering in Australia. This week, the UK Internet Service Providers'...

- Posted on 13/Jul/2009; tagged in Australia/New Zealand, Legislation, Social filtering, Voluntary filtering, Overblocking

ONI Blog: Livejournal Blocked in Uzbekistan

Uzbek information agency Fergana.ru reported that national Internet service providers blocked access to the most popular blogging service in the country. According to the allegations, the website was blocked because of pictures of a local entrepreneur posted on Livejournal user’s blog....

- Posted on 27/Feb/2009; tagged in Uzbekistan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Social filtering, Overblocking