{"id":561933,"date":"2023-03-09T19:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/"},"modified":"2023-03-09T19:00:02","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T16:00:02","slug":"how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Countries Censor and Control the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a413ceabd3a1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a413ceabd3a1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#%E2%80%9CHow_Countries_Censor_and_Control_the_Internet%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How Countries Censor and Control the Internet&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#Why_Censor_the_Web\" >Why Censor the Web?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#Manipulating_Search_Results\" >Manipulating Search Results<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#Blocking_the_Web\" >Blocking the Web<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#Blocking_IPs\" >Blocking IPs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#DNS_Tampering_and_Hijacking\" >DNS Tampering and Hijacking<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#Port_Blocking\" >Port Blocking<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#Shutting_Down_the_Web\" >Shutting Down the Web<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/#How_You_Can_Get_Around_Censorship\" >How You Can Get Around Censorship<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_Countries_Censor_and_Control_the_Internet%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How Countries Censor and Control the Internet&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-856293\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/person-plugging-in-the-cable-matters-ethernet-cable-into-a-routerjpg_52577263822_o.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Person plugging in the Cable Matters ethernet cable into a router\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Hannah Stryker \/ How-To Geek<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The most straightforward ways for governments to control the internet are through manipulating search results, blocking access to specific sites, or shutting off access altogether.<\/p>\n<p>The internet is not so free as it seems: even outside of authoritarian countries like China and its Great Firewall, many people are routinely denied access to sites that have content authorities deem harmful. How do these blocks work, though? What methods do governments employ to control the web?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Censor_the_Web\"><\/span>Why Censor the Web?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Before we look at the how, let\u2019s take a look at the why. There are plenty of reasons governments would want to censor the web to some extent: Russia for example <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/russia-block-online-sources-ukraine-war\/31756533.html\">blocks many news sites<\/a> that don\u2019t put the invasion of Ukraine in a positive light. China doesn\u2019t want any <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> that hasn\u2019t been <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roved by the government shown to its people.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just authoritarian regimes that block certain web sites, though: many western countries block extremist content, for one, and in the U.S. the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ncac.org\/resource\/internet-filters-2\">National Coalition Against Censorship<\/a> is campaigning against the way public libraries block sites using keywords associated with sexually explicit content\u2014including sex education materials.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Manipulating_Search_Results\"><\/span>Manipulating Search Results<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>That brings us to one common way to censor the web: manipulating search results and\u00a0 keep people from seeing specific material. China is famous for this, with weird results when you search for anything politically sensitive.<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s not just the People\u2019s Republic that has search engines filter out unwanted results: for the past two decades, Google <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/tech\/services-and-software\/google-excluding-controversial-sites\/\">won\u2019t display search results<\/a> for extremist content in Germany and France, including neo-Nazi material as well as that associated with religious fundamentalism.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blocking_the_Web\"><\/span>Blocking the Web<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>However, not all methods used are this subtle. Many governments, especially of the strongman variant, will use more direct ways to curtail what their citizens can consume online, by placing blocks.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blocking_IPs\"><\/span>Blocking IPs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Probably the most common of these is IP blocking, where the authorities block access to a set of IP addresses, usually through internet service providers (ISPs). If you try to access an IP associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> from,\u00a0say, China, the Chinese ISP you\u2019re using will not let your traffic through because the People\u2019s Republic has decided Facebook is not for China.<\/p>\n<p>We suspect that blocking is the most widely used tool because it\u2019s pretty easy to set up: you\u2019re just telling a server that it can\u2019t connect somewhere, it\u2019s as simple as filling out a list. However, it\u2019s pretty easy to get around, all you need to do is change your IP address to one that can get around the block and that\u2019s it\u2014we\u2019ll talk more about this later.<\/p>\n<p>Though it\u2019s used a lot by authoritarian governments to control who accesses what, IP blocking isn\u2019t just a tool of repression. It\u2019s also used by companies to make sure only people from certain countries access their services, or by streaming services like Netflix to offer specific content to certain countries.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"DNS_Tampering_and_Hijacking\"><\/span>DNS Tampering and Hijacking<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A second method that can be used is DNS tampering. DNS servers connect an IP address to a site name and messing with their records means you effectively block a site. Think of it like IP blocking with extra steps, so instead of denying access to a range of IPs, you\u2019re saying all IPs associated with a certain name, let\u2019s say facebook.com, are blocked.<\/p>\n<p>A variant of this is DNS hijacking or redirection, where a DNS server has been altered to take you to a different site. China has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.eecs.umich.edu\/~zmao\/Papers\/china-censorship-pam11.pdf\">been reported<\/a> to have done this a lot in the past, though less thanks to it causing issues in the wider network. Criminals still like it a lot, though, and will have a reputable site\u2019s DNS server redirect you to an identical fake to steal your login credentials and personal data\u2014<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cloudflare.com\/learning\/security\/global-dns-hijacking-threat\/\">Cloudflare<\/a> has a full report.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Port_Blocking\"><\/span>Port Blocking<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A third way to outright deny traffic going in and out of a system is through port blocking, also called blacklisting. In networking, a port is a connection to the internet for a specific type of traffic. Most modern email, for example, uses port 587. Were you to block that port on a specific network, no email will be sent or received.<\/p>\n<p>According to at least one <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/geneva.cs.umd.edu\/posts\/fully-encrypted-traffic\/en\/\">academic paper<\/a>, China uses this method to block encrypted traffic when it has overcome the country\u2019s IP blocks. It\u2019s effective because it\u2019s hard to get around it, but it doesn\u2019t seem to be used routinely since it can also shut down legitimate traffic on connected networks.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Shutting_Down_the_Web\"><\/span>Shutting Down the Web<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Of course, all the above methods still let people use the web, just not all of it. However, when pressured, authoritarian regimes the world over have been more than happy to simply hit the \u201coff\u201d button when their people become a bit too rebellious.<\/p>\n<p>One example is Egypt in 2011, when massive protests, partially organized via social media, looked like they might make the government under strongman Hosni Mubarak fall. To prevent further communication, Mubarak\u2019s government simply <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2016\/1\/25\/arab-spring-anniversary-when-egypt-cut-the-internet\">ordered the entire Egyptian internet shut down<\/a> with just a few phone calls. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accessnow.org\/update-internet-access-censorship-myanmar\/\">The military dictatorship in Myanmar did something similar<\/a> in the months following its successful coup in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The reasons why these regimes can so easily switch off the web are a little hard to summarize, but in short these countries usually have only a few points of access to the internet. Egypt, for example, only had <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/780675\/how-do-internet-censorship-and-surveillance-actually-work\">three access points in 2011<\/a>, so forcing those three to cooperate\u2014not too hard in an economy controlled by the state\u2014meant that\u2019s all it took. Myanmar has similar issues.<\/p>\n<p>The Chinese web is more developed than these two countries, but there the government has made it so that as much as 80 percent of its internet flows through just one access point. If Beijing ever wants to shut down its internet, one phone call might be all it takes.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_You_Can_Get_Around_Censorship\"><\/span>How You Can Get Around Censorship<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There is some good news, though: though a full shutdown is hard to get around, getting around regular censorship is actually not that bad. There are several tools that can help you get around most blocks, whether they block IPs, mess with DNS, or just hide search results. The trick is to connect to a location outside of the block and then access the web like normal.<\/p>\n<p>The two best pieces of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> for this are Shadowsocks and virtual private networks. Though they can\u2019t deal with port blocking, which is only a tiny step removed from cutting off the web entirely, they sail past all other forms of blocking.<\/p>\n<p>Both have their pros and cons\u2014check out our Shadowsocks versus VPN comparison for more on them\u2014but in each case with a small investment of time or money you can be up and running and accessing the web without any issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/875107\/how-countries-censor-and-control-the-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How Countries Censor and Control the Internet&#8221; Hannah Stryker \/ How-To Geek The most straightforward ways for governments to control the internet are through manipulating search results, blocking access to specific sites, or shutting off access altogether. The internet is not so free as it seems: even outside of authoritarian countries like China and its&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":561934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/person-plugging-in-the-cable-matters-ethernet-cable-into-a-routerjpg_52577263822_o.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}