Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1200837
16.01.2020 10 INTERVIEW Internet censorship 2020: a global By Paul Bischoff Tech writer, privacy advocate and VPN expert ALMOST 54 percent of the world's pop- ulation (4.1 billion people) uses the inter- net. It's our source of instant information, entertainment, news, and social interac- tions. But where in the world can citizens en- joy equal and open internet access – if anywhere? In this exploratory study, our research- ers have conducted a country-by-coun- try comparison to see which countries impose the harshest internet restrictions and where citizens can enjoy the most online freedom. is includes restrictions or bans for torrenting, pornography, so- cial media, and VPNs, and restrictions or heavy censorship of political media. Although the usual culprits take the top spots, a few seemingly free countries rank surprisingly high. With ongoing restric- tions and pending laws, our online free- dom is at more risk than ever. Top 10 worst countries for Internet censorship 1. North Korea (10/10) ere isn't anything North Korea doesn't heavily censor thanks to its iron grip over the entire internet. Users are unable to use social media, watch porn, or use tor- rents or VPNs. And all of the political media published in the country is creat- ed by e Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) – the only source permitted to publish news. 2. China (9/10) Porn, VPNs*, and Western social media are blocked, while political media is heav- ily restricted. Journalists often face severe prison sentences if they publish anything that goes against the government. New online regulations mean members of the public can be jailed for simply sharing or commenting on news posts. China's Great Firewall is one of the most advanced web censorship systems in the world. e only point China claws back is for its torrent- ing laws (or lack of ). Copyright laws aren't heavily monitored within China, so there isn't technically a ban on torrenting. How- ever, due to China's excessive online cen- sorship, torrent websites are restricted. 3. Russia, Turkmenistan, and Iran (8/10) ese countries heavily censor politi- cal media but have different laws when it comes to all other areas. • Russia blocks torrenting sites and VPNs* but doesn't completely block porn or social media. Some of the top porn sites have been blocked in Russia but, according to Rus- sian law, watching porn isn't illegal (but producing it is). Some social media sites are also accessible but these too are heavily monitored and controlled (users have to register with their mobile phone numbers to remove anonymity). However, with Russia's plans to build its own internet, these restrictions could become even more severe. • Iran also blocks VPNs (only govern- ment-approved ones are permitted which renders them almost useless) but doesn't completely ban torrent- ing. Pornography is also banned but social media is permitted to some extent. News media is heavily cen- sored. • In contrast, Turkmenistan blocks social media and porn but doesn't have as severe restrictions on tor- renting and VPN use. 4. Belarus, Turkey, Oman, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and Eritrea (7/10) All of these countries score the same due to very similar approaches to internet censorship. Porn is banned/blocked in all of these countries and political media is also heavily censored. Only Pakistan bans torrenting and only Eritrea bans social media, but both are free of restrictions for VPNs unlike all of the other countries which restrict, but do not ban, their use. Which countries ban or block torrenting sites? Every country has some form of restric- tion when it comes to torrenting. is is often a restriction in the copyright law or in the uploading of content. However, only some countries are actively blocking torrenting sites. A handful of European countries have introduced measures but aren't blocking websites as of yet. ese include Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithua- nia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slova- kia, and Slovenia. As they aren't blocking torrenting sites, these haven't been scored as having "sites blocked" and are instead scored as being "restricted." Which countries ban or block online pornography? As we can see from the below map, many countries across Asia and Africa restrict or block porn. But there may also be a few surprises in there – the UK and Austral- ia. Both of these have some restrictions when it comes to online porn and both are trying to impose even tougher restric- tions. In the UK, a new law was introduced in 2017 – the Digital Economy Act. Part 3 of the act, dubbed the "porn block," sought to ensure porn websites confirmed a us- er's age by taking card details or a copy of their ID (passport or driver's license). However, this part of the act met a lot of criticism, suggesting it violates privacy and goes against privacy laws. At the time of writing, it still hasn't been implement- ed. Even without this section of the law being action, the UK's laws surrounding pornography are still more restrictive than many other EU countries with the censorship of "extreme" content and oth- er such safeguards. In Australia, the Broadcasting Service Act 1992 illegalizes watching internet porn, establishing it as a fineable offense. However, only some towns and cities have tried to establish a full ban. All Australians may find themselves having to give up their anonymity if they want to watch porn in the future. e Australian government has pro- posed that the Document Verification Service and Face Verification Service that's currently in place to tackle identity theft and cybercrime should also be used in the login process for gambling and pornographic websites. Using facial recognition, this technolo- gy would ensure those wanting to access these sites were 18 or over. Users of these sites would lose their anonymity and they would have to hand over their biometric data to the government. is poses serious privacy threats, par- ticularly given the Australian government has been the victim of hacking recently. Which countries restrict or block social media? Again, a lot of African and Asian coun- tries, along with some South American countries, restrict social media use. Bans on social media aren't as widespread but this tends to be because a lot of countries will block social media for certain periods of time. For example, quite a few countries block social networks during elections. is is often the case in Africa with Mauritania recently disrupting connectivity follow- ing a disputed election. Ethiopia also shut down the internet during national exams to curb cheating, while Somalia banned social media when exams were taking place in high schools across the country. Meanwhile, in Chad, a 16-month social media ban finally came to an end in July 2019. e reason for the ban was "nation- al security." At present, China, Eritrea, Turkmeni- stan, and North Korea are the only coun- tries to impose full and ongoing blocks on social media. But several countries could soon follow suit if their plans for further restrictions come to fruition. A number of governments are trying to crack down on fake news, which means imposing stricter sanctions on social me- dia sites. For example, in India, the government has plans to regulate social media due to the "disruption" it causes. is follows their attempt to get WhatsApp to allow them to trace users' messages. In Russia, a new law gives officials sweeping powers to restrict web traffic as ISPs are required to install deep packet inspection (DPI) on their servers. is will allow officials to identify traf-