Many countries practice some form of Internet censorship, either by banning an online community or completely censoring popular websites like YouTube or Wikipedia. Internet censorship is defined as “controlling or suppressing the publication of or access to information on the Internet.” Countries vary in how strict or lax the control over the Internet is, but even the laxest countries still target certain websites, such as religious-related sites or social networking sites, and ban them accordingly. Internet censorship has given rise to different resources to access restricted sites, mainly in the form of circumventers such as anonymous proxy servers.

In 2006, Reporters Without Borders published a list of 13 enemies of the Internet that includes: Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. These countries practice the most extreme form of Internet censorship and often retaliate against citizens who violate censorship laws. The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) also uses a classification system and categorizes countries as ubiquitous, substantial, nominal, and surveillance. Widespread includes countries that practice the most extreme cases of censorship, especially the banning of websites with political content. Many of the Internet users can be sure to face jail even for visiting these websites. A partial list of nations in this category includes: Iran, Burma, and China. Substantial includes countries such as: South Korea, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. Nominal countries include: Australia, Canada and India. Countries on the watch list include: Morocco, Norway, and Russia.

Another method of classification is based on what content is blocked by certain countries. Websites classified as “political” include content that deviates from the political views of the government. This category also includes human rights, religion, or other social causes that restrictive governments try to control. “Social” sites are related to sexuality, gambling, drugs, and other topics that a nation might find “offensive.” The “conflict/security” category focuses on sites related to wars/skirmishes, dissent, or other types of conflict. The “Internet tools” classification includes websites that are used to circumvent censorship, anonymous proxy browsing, language translation websites, or sites that promote the use of email or instant messaging services. Countries may block some or all of these types of websites, depending on the content and strictness of the regime.

Aside from restrictive governments, many companies censor and monitor the Internet in their offices. Most websites that are considered entertainment and not related to the employees’ work environment are blocked. IT departments may block certain domains or track Internet usage because employees have no reason to use certain websites during office hours. Again, bypassers and similar programs can be used to gain access to blocked websites, but IT departments act quickly so they can prevent the most popular proxy sites from being used.

Internet censorship also comes in other forms, such as portal censorship or online community moderation. Portal censorship is basically when a portal, like Google’s, excludes websites that would normally be included in a search. Portals may censor sites for a variety of reasons, particularly when required by law. Censored sites are basically hidden and become invisible to an average user. The other form of censorship comes from moderators or administrators of online communities who block content that they feel should not be posted on their forums or that does not follow the rules and guidelines of the forum.

While governments and businesses restrict how people use the Internet, new methods are always being created to bypass restrictions and gain access to censored websites. With many restrictive governments using incarceration as a method of implementing censorship, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to circumvent censors. A popular method of bypassing blocks is The Onion Router, also known as TOR. This service allows users to remain invisible from traffic analysis by bouncing the network connection through various gateways around the world. Users do not have direct access to the site they visit, but rather are sent through a series of connections, called relays. The relays are individually encrypted and sent to the next gateway until it reaches the exit node and the user can see the website that was requested. A third method of bypassing the blocks is Java Anon Proxy, commonly known as JAP, which allows users to choose which network, run by independent organizations, to browse. Once chosen, the data stream is encrypted and mixed with other users’ data streams so that anyone trying to steal or restrict the data stream will be confused by the garbled stream they see. Psiphon software was created directly to bypass the strict internet censorship of countries like China and Cuba. Traffic between clients and servers is encrypted as data is transferred. Users from countries with strict censorship can log in and send a request to a server located in another country to gain access to blocked websites. Another method called “sneakernets” allows people to transfer electronic data, such as computer files, by manually taking them to portable storage devices, such as USB drives or CDs. This method could also be used in conjunction with other methods, as the encrypted data can be sent as usual, but the encryption keys could be delivered by sneakernet. Regardless of government restrictions and censorship, this data can move freely as it does not travel through a network at all. One of the most popular methods of accessing censored content is through the use of anonymous proxy servers. These are usually the easiest to find and use, as they can be found in abundance by doing a simple Google or Yahoo search. Anonymous browsing websites and software allow the user to hide their IP address and browse freely. A good proxy will also encrypt your connection so that anyone trying to eavesdrop on the data stream cannot see what is being sent and received.

Internet censorship varies in severity by country or company, but ultimately, strict controls over Internet use remove a user’s privacy rights. Many different services are available to help a user regain their privacy and avoid being censored or spied on by restrictive agencies. A user should always be familiar with the Internet environment and how extreme or lax the Internet usage policies are before implementing any of the anonymous browsing services. Policies will be different and will vary drastically by location, so knowing your environment is important to keep yourself protected while browsing the Internet.