India Censorship - on then off again

India recently announced that all ISPs in the country will be required to block a list of over 800 websites. They claim all of these were for pornography or child pornography, but it turns out that was not the case for all of them. In the face of a massive backlash, the telecom ministry first said this was no big deal because people could use VPN services to bypass the censorship. They later down entirely.

Obviously this huge number of people protesting this move we're not all pedophiles but rather people who understood that this kind of censorship often leads to much broader and politically based censorship. At Anonymizer are we noticed a huge surge in the amount of traffic and sign-ups coming from India during this situation.

It is very important to set up your anti-censorship tools before you actually need them. It is easy for governments to block a website like Anonymizer.com, your service might continue to work for very long time but you would not be able to sign up in the first place once the censorship is put in place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZL8D-p6FY

[powerpress]

Russia accelerates requirement for local Internet control

On September 24, the Russian Duma passed a bill moving the date on which all Internet services must host local data locally from Sept 1, 2016 to Jan 1, 2015. That is an effectively impossible timeline for international Internet companies, which is probably the whole point.

While the bill has not been finally passed, the remaining steps are mostly formality.

Russia is suggesting that foreign firms could rent infrastructure, if they will have no time to build, giving Russia even stronger leverage.

My original post on the law was back in July, and I talked about other Russian Internet control and censorship activity here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmH4hK05_78

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Brazil enforcing ban on Anonymity

A Brazilian court is enforcing a constitutional ban on anonymity by requiring Apple and Google to remove Secret, an anonymous social network chatting app from their app stores. Microsoft is being required to remove Cryptic, a similar windows phone app. In addition to that, they have been ordered to remove the app from the phones of all users who have installed it. These kinds of retroactive orders to have companies intrusively modify the contents of all of their customer’s devices are concerning. At least these apps are free, if users had paid for them, that would introduce another complication.

One wonders how this will apply to tourists or business travelers visiting Brazil. Will their phones be impacted as well?

The law exists to allow victims of libel or slander to identify and confront their those speakers.

While this ruling only applies to Apple, Google, and Microsoft, and only with respect to the Secret and Cryptic apps, the underlying principle extends much further. There are still final rulings to come, so this is not the last word on this situation.

Anonymizer has had a great many Brazilian customers for many years. Anonymizer provides those users important protections which are well established in international human rights law. We certainly hope that they will continue to be allowed to use our services.

Brazil Court Issues Injunction Against Secret And Calls For App To Be Remotely Wiped | TechCrunch

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Google unblocked in China after Tiananmen anniversary has passed.

Multiple sources are reporting that Google services are once again available in China. They had been blocked in the lead up to the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests.

Access to Google services within China returns | Reuters

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Specifics on recent Iraq censorship orders

Iraq Telecom Ministry Orders ISPs: Kill The Internet in Five Provinces | SMEX: Channeling Advocacy

If this is real, it is an interesting view into the specifics of Internet censorship in Iraq. I find "Block all access to VPN in all Iraq from 4 pm until 7 am on daily basis” particularly interesting.

Just trying to prevent attack coordination at night?

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Iran criminalizes Facebook

Iran has taken the next step beyond censorship to criminalize the use of social media, particularly Facebook.

Iran has long had one of the most strict and effective Internet censorship regimes, but still huge numbers of Iranians were able to skirt the blocking to access social media websites, generally under false names. Actually criminalizing the activity adds a huge chilling effect to those striving for free access to information and speech. Using Facebook is now not just difficult, but also dangerous.

Obviously it is unlikely that someone positing positive messages about Iran, or the mullahs, would be prosecuted. This is a big stick that can be swung at dissidents and any opposition.

Ironically many within the government, including president Hassan Rouhani, have and actively use Facebook and Twitter. Hypocrisy is never lacking in repressive governments.

Iran makes accessing Facebook a crime | VentureBeat | Social | by Richard Byrne Reilly

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Iraq blocking social media as a defense against ISIS

Iraq Crisis: Twitter, Google, YouTube and Facebook Blocked by Government to Stop Isis Plotting

Many sources are reporting that most major social networks are being blocked in Iraq.

It is generally assumed that this is being done to prevent use of these tools for organization and propaganda by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). I am not seeing reports of blocking VPNs and other censorship circumvention tools. We are actively monitoring Anonymizer for any evidence of such activity.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

YouTube unblocked by Turkey

Turkey lifts its ban on YouTube-agency | Reuters Several days after the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled the blocking of YouTube to be unconstitutional, it looks like the block has been removed.

YouTube said that they are getting reports from users that they are once again able to access the site. YouTube was blocked since May 2008.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

China celebrates 25th anniversary of Tiananmen with censorship.

In anticipation of possible protests in memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre 25 years ago, China has blocked access to Google search and Gmail. The censorship has been in place for a few days now, suggesting that this may be more than a short term action.

China has long blocked access to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and services which would circumvent the blocking, like Anonymizer.

Google search, and Gmail are both popular in China. It will be interesting to see if this actually draws attention to the anniversary, rather than diffusing it.

The image with this post is from 2010 when Google moved out of their China offices to avoid government control. (via Wikipedia)

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Turkish top court rules blocking of YouTube unconstitutional

Turkey's Top Court Rules YouTube Ban is Unconstitutional - WSJ

Long after the blocking of Twitter was ruled unconstitutional, they have similarly ruled that blocking YouTube over the last two months was similarly unconstitutional. The formal ruling and orders to remove the blocking should be forthcoming soon.

This decision by the country’s top court bolsters rulings by lower courts which have been ignored by the government of Prime Minister Erdogan.

All this censorship is an attempt to suppress criticism of the government generally and Erdogan and his allies specifically.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Evading post coup Thai Internet censorship

In the wake of the recent coup in Thailand, the new government is taking steps to suppress dissent. In addition to curfews, banning unauthorized gatherings / protests, and instructing the media not to criticize the new government, they have taken initial steps towards Internet censorship.

Facebook was blocked briefly on Wednesday by order of the Information Communications Technology Ministry. A senior ministry confirmed that the blocking was intentional, not an outage, and it had been done to slow online criticism and make it more difficult to organize and coordinate protests.

The typical pattern with censorship is for it to get stronger over time. I encourage anyone in Thailand to download the Anonymizer Universal free trial, to ensure you have a way around any of the new blocks that are likely to appear in the coming weeks.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Russia: To block Twitter, or not to block Twitter

Russia seems to have a conflicted relationship with Twitter and Internet censorship in general.

While trying to portray themselves as open and democratic, they clearly have a real problem with the radical openness of social media like Twitter.

Maxim Ksenzov, deputy head of Roscomnadzor (Russia’s censorship agency), said Twitter is a “global instrument for promoting political information” and that they could block Twitter or Facebook in minutes.

Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev responded on his Facebook account, saying that state officials “sometimes need to turn on their brains” rather than "announcing in interviews the shutdown of social networks.” Which is not quite the same as saying that they would not do so.

The primary desire in Russia is for Twitter and all other social networks to open offices in Russia. That would smooth communications, but also provide leverage to push for censorship or access to data as needed.

The Privacy Blog Podcast - Ep. 18: Zombies, encryption, bitcoins, and Turkish Censorship

In episode 18 of The Privacy Blog Podcast for March 2014 I talk about:

• Zombie iPhone Bluetooth settings
• Proposed Australian encryption regulations
• More from the Mt. Gox and bitcoin saga
• The cat and mouse of censorship and circumvention in Turkey

Turkey is Tweeting Again!

Turkey Unblocks Twitter After Free-Speech Ruling Yesterday the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled that the blocking of Twitter violated the guarantees of free speech in the Turkish Constitution. The government appears to have acted quickly to remove the blocks on Twitter’s IP addresses as well as the changes to DNS as ordered.

Celebratory tweets are gushing out over the wires.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Turkey extends censorship from Twitter to Youtube

Turkey Escalates Internet Blocking With YouTube Ban | Re/code

In their continuing effort to suppress discussion of corruption in the Turkish government, they have extended their censorship efforts from blocking Twitter to blocking Youtube. This appears to be in response to Google’s refusal to remove “offending” videos.

Reports suggest that the blocking is not completely effective. If you are in Turkey and being blocked, Anonymizer Universal is able to bypass the censorship. Our two week trial provides a quick solution.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook and Google+.

Turkey Twitter censorship goes from DNS to IP based blocking

Turkey has taken their censorship of Twitter to the next level.

Initial blocking was done through DNS, so it could be easily bypassed by using something like Google DNS at 8.8.8.8.

Turkey quickly responded to the masses of people using that workaround, and are now blocking Twitter by IP address.

As one often sees with attempts at censorship, this one was counter productive. It looks like tweets from Turkey actually increased 138% following the DNS block.

Now that the censorship is IP based, a VPN like Anonymizer Universal will be required to continue to access Twitter and any other services that may be blocked.

We continue to test that service from within Turkey, and it looks to be working well. 

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook and Google+.

Turkey blocks Twitter to suppress corruption allegations.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the courts have ordered Twitter be blocked completely.

This appears to be in response to Twitter refusing to take down tweets of audio recordings purporting to be of Erdoğan engaging in corrupt activities.

Twitter is suggesting that users fall back to an SMS interface to continue to access the service. I suspect most active Twitter users follow enough people that the feed would overwhelm their SMS plans completely.

A better solution is to use a VPN like Anonymizer Universal to punch a hole through the censorship. Through Anonymizer you would then be able to access Twitter, or any other website the Turkish government might be trying to block.

Update: We have re-confirmed that Anonymizer is still accessible and working from Turkey.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook and Google+.

Do sanctions prevent dissidents from accessing secure communications tools?

US Tech Sanctions In Sudan Are Empowering The Regime, Tamping Down Opposition | Techdirt

This article makes an interesting argument that sanctions against repressive regimes, particularly sanctions that block providing communications and security technologies to end users, harm dissidents more than they do the repressive regimes they are designed to target.

In particular, companies are unable to provide cryptography and anonymity tools to the people who really need them.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook and Google+.

Turkey passes new laws to enable rapid Internet censorship.

Turkey passed legislation to allow the government to censor access to websites within four hours of receiving an allegation of privacy violations. WSJ Article behind paywall.  CNET Article The law also requires web hosts to store all traffic information for two years. While the putative purpose of the legislation is privacy protection, it is widely assumed that this is an attempt to grab more control of the Internet, which has been repeatedly blasted by the Turkish government reporting on government corruption and graft.

As usual with these attempts at censorship, interested citizens can generally get around them. VPNs like Anonymizer Universal allow anyone to punch a hole through the national censorship firewalls to access any content.

I would be very interested to hear about efforts to block tools like Anonymizer in countries enforcing Internet censorship, like Turkey and the UK. Blocking of circumvention tools is already well documented in both China and Iran, and has been seen sporadically in many other countries.

Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook and Google+.