Nov 13
Key Findings HTTP blocking and RST injection: Ugandan ISPs primarily implement internet censorship by means of HTTP blocking, resetting connections to taxed and banned sites. TCP/IP blocking of apps: MTN appears to block Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat by means of TCP/IP blocking. The TCP/IP blocking of Snapchat may have caused collateral damage, possibly affecting thousands …
Aug 17
Media censorship appears to be quite pervasive, as a number of independent media websites were found to be blocked in Venezuela (primarily) by means of DNS tampering. Blocked news outlets include El Pitazo and El Nacional, while La Patilla was temporarily blocked in June 2018. Walkie-talkie app Zello was reportedly blocked during Venezuela’s 2014 protests and recent measurements suggest that the service remains …
Aug 11
Established in July 2011, South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. But the transition to independence from Sudan has been far from smooth, as the country experiences an ongoing civil war. Even though internet penetration levels remain quite low, two media websites and two independent blogs were reportedly blocked last year. This report is a joint …
Aug 11
Two days ago, on 29th July 2018, Malians went to the polls to vote in presidential elections and reported that social media was inaccessible. This is not the first time that social media is reportedly blocked in Mali. Facebook and Twitter were blocked two years ago amidst violent protests against the detention of a popular radio host. Last month, Internet Sans Frontieres reportedthat social …
Jul 21
Since last year’s launch of the OONI Probe mobile apps, tens of thousands of people have been measuring internet censorship in around 200 countries every month. But OONI Probe is far from perfect. We’re excited to hear more about your experience with the apps so that we can improve them. We invite you to complete our survey and/or participate in …
Jul 21
Last year, Egypt ordered the blocking of 21 news websites. OONI, a censorship measurement project under the Tor Project, responded by publishing a report on the blocking of (at least) 10 media websites, including Mada Masr and Al Jazeera. In an attempt to identify the remaining blocked sites, Egypt’s Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) ran OONI Probe across multiple networks in Egypt. They …
Jul 21
On 22nd June 2018, the Ethiopian government reported that it had unblocked 264 websites. This (great) news was also reported by ESAT, a major Ethiopian media website that was blocked over the last years. Today, OONI and Access Now publish new research based on the testing of sites that were previously found to be blocked, in an attempt to examine whether they have in fact …
Jul 21
Last October, Nigeria’s National Communications Commission (NCC) reportedly ordered the blocking of 21 websites. In response, we collaborated with Nigeria’s Paradigm Initiative to test those websites and collect network measurement data that can shed light on whether and how they’re blocked. Our findings are included in a joint research report that we published today with Paradigm Initiative. The full …
Jun 08
If you’ve met Julie Owono, you’ll probably agree that her passion and determination for defending digital rights is one of the things that stands out about her. In her capacity as the Executive Director of Internet Sans Frontières (Internet Without Borders), Julie has spearheaded advocacy efforts in defense of online freedoms in many West African countries. Notably, Julie …
Jun 08
We are excited to participate at RightsCon next week: the world’s leading event on human rights in the digital age. Annually hosted by Access Now, this three-day conference will take place in Toronto between 16th-18th May 2018. Over the last years, RightsCon has provided us the opportunity to participate in critical discussions in the digital rights field, meet …