220
Introduction to the Country Profi les
are made as to whether a site is accessible or not, and if the latter, how the inaccessibility occurs. In some instances, block pages — Web sites that explicitly confi rm
blocking — appear following requests for banned content. In other instances, connections are simply broken. In some cases, special fi ltering software is employed, while
in others routers are manually confi gured to block.
Each country profi le includes the summary results of the empirical testing for fi ltering. The technical fi ltering data alone, however, do not amount to a complete picture
of Internet censorship and content regulation. A wide range of policies relating to
media, speech, and expression also act to restrict expression on the Internet and formation of online communities. Legal and regulatory frameworks, including Internet
law, the state of Internet access and infrastructure, the level of economic development,
and the quality of governance institutions are central to determining which countries
resort to fi ltering and how they choose to implement Internet content controls. A
brief synopsis of each of these factors is included in each of the country summaries.
Together, these sections are intended to offer a concise, accurate, and unbiased overview of Internet fi ltering and content regulation.
Each country is given a score on a fi ve-point scale presented in the “ Results at a
Glance ” table. The scores refl ect the observed level of fi ltering in each of four themes:
1. Political: This category is focused primarily on Web sites that express views in opposition to those of the current government. Content more broadly related to human
rights, freedom of expression, minority rights, and religious movements is also considered here.
2. Social: This group covers material related to sexuality, gambling, and illegal drugs
and alcohol, as well as other topics that may be socially sensitive or perceived as
offensive.
3. Confl ict and security: Content related to armed confl icts, border disputes, separatist
movements, and militant groups is included in this category.
4. Internet tools: Web sites that provide e-mail, Internet hosting, search, translation,
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service, and circumvention methods are
grouped in this category.
The relative magnitude of fi ltering for each of the four themes is defi ned as follows:
1. Pervasive fi ltering is characterized by both its depth — a blocking regime that blocks
a large portion of the targeted content in a given category — and its breadth — a blocking regime that includes fi ltering in several categories in a given theme.
2. Substantial fi ltering has either depth or breadth: either a number of categories are
subject to a medium level of fi ltering, or a low level of fi ltering is carried out across
many categories.
3. Selective fi ltering is narrowly targeted fi ltering that blocks a small number of specifi c
sites across a few categories or fi ltering that targets a single category or issue.
Introduction to the Country Profi les
are made as to whether a site is accessible or not, and if the latter, how the inaccessibility occurs. In some instances, block pages — Web sites that explicitly confi rm
blocking — appear following requests for banned content. In other instances, connections are simply broken. In some cases, special fi ltering software is employed, while
in others routers are manually confi gured to block.
Each country profi le includes the summary results of the empirical testing for fi ltering. The technical fi ltering data alone, however, do not amount to a complete picture
of Internet censorship and content regulation. A wide range of policies relating to
media, speech, and expression also act to restrict expression on the Internet and formation of online communities. Legal and regulatory frameworks, including Internet
law, the state of Internet access and infrastructure, the level of economic development,
and the quality of governance institutions are central to determining which countries
resort to fi ltering and how they choose to implement Internet content controls. A
brief synopsis of each of these factors is included in each of the country summaries.
Together, these sections are intended to offer a concise, accurate, and unbiased overview of Internet fi ltering and content regulation.
Each country is given a score on a fi ve-point scale presented in the “ Results at a
Glance ” table. The scores refl ect the observed level of fi ltering in each of four themes:
1. Political: This category is focused primarily on Web sites that express views in opposition to those of the current government. Content more broadly related to human
rights, freedom of expression, minority rights, and religious movements is also considered here.
2. Social: This group covers material related to sexuality, gambling, and illegal drugs
and alcohol, as well as other topics that may be socially sensitive or perceived as
offensive.
3. Confl ict and security: Content related to armed confl icts, border disputes, separatist
movements, and militant groups is included in this category.
4. Internet tools: Web sites that provide e-mail, Internet hosting, search, translation,
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service, and circumvention methods are
grouped in this category.
The relative magnitude of fi ltering for each of the four themes is defi ned as follows:
1. Pervasive fi ltering is characterized by both its depth — a blocking regime that blocks
a large portion of the targeted content in a given category — and its breadth — a blocking regime that includes fi ltering in several categories in a given theme.
2. Substantial fi ltering has either depth or breadth: either a number of categories are
subject to a medium level of fi ltering, or a low level of fi ltering is carried out across
many categories.
3. Selective fi ltering is narrowly targeted fi ltering that blocks a small number of specifi c
sites across a few categories or fi ltering that targets a single category or issue.