226
Asia Overview
These have taken the form of centralized fi ltering mechanisms, increased power for
regulators to monitor and censor content, and the prosecution of violators of content
dissemination laws.
In 2009 – 2010, the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) conducted in-country testing of Internet fi ltering in Bangladesh, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Testing results remain
largely consistent with 2007 – 2008 fi ndings and show that a spectrum of information
fi ltering continues across Asian countries. Burma, China, and Vietnam maintain the
most pervasive regimes of Internet fi ltering in the region, primarily targeting independent media and content related to politically sensitive issues, human rights, and
political reform. On the other end of the spectrum, Singapore continues to symbolically block a limited number of pornography Web sites.
Filtering in South Korea and India focuses primarily on content related to national
security and confl ict issues — with South Korean Internet service providers (ISPs) extensively targeting online content related to North Korea and India targeting topics of
Hindu extremism. Pakistan also focuses on blocking issues deemed sensitive to national
security such as the Balochi confl ict and independence movement, as well as religious
content deemed blasphemous. Although previous ONI testing found no evidence of
Internet fi ltering in Indonesia, recent testing revealed that ISPs are substantially fi ltering online pornography and selectively targeting political, blasphemous, and Internettool-related content. In Thailand fi ltering primarily concentrates on political content
in reaction to sensitive events such as the 2009 political unrest that gripped the
country. OpenNet Initiative testing found no evidence of Internet fi ltering in Bangladesh, Malaysia, or the Philippines.
Internet in Asia
Asia is home to one of the most connected countries in the world, and some of the
least connected. In recent years, the region has seen tremendous growth, with several
states identifying ICT growth as an integral part of their socioeconomic development.
The mobile sector in particular has grown exponentially — an important development
in countries with relatively underdeveloped fi xed telecommunications infrastructure.
In some countries, fi xed infrastructure development has stagnated, eclipsed by the
rapid rollout of mobile connectivity.
South Korea remains a world leader in Internet connectivity with one of the highest
penetration rates and data transfer speeds in the world.
1 South Korea has penetration
rates exceeding 81 percent
2 and an average broadband connection speed of 17 Mbps,
the highest in the world and more than double the rate of second-ranked Hong Kong.
3
While not as high as South Korea, Malaysia also has a relatively substantial Internet
penetration rate of 55.9 percent
4 and, like many in the region, a rapidly growing
Asia Overview
These have taken the form of centralized fi ltering mechanisms, increased power for
regulators to monitor and censor content, and the prosecution of violators of content
dissemination laws.
In 2009 – 2010, the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) conducted in-country testing of Internet fi ltering in Bangladesh, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Testing results remain
largely consistent with 2007 – 2008 fi ndings and show that a spectrum of information
fi ltering continues across Asian countries. Burma, China, and Vietnam maintain the
most pervasive regimes of Internet fi ltering in the region, primarily targeting independent media and content related to politically sensitive issues, human rights, and
political reform. On the other end of the spectrum, Singapore continues to symbolically block a limited number of pornography Web sites.
Filtering in South Korea and India focuses primarily on content related to national
security and confl ict issues — with South Korean Internet service providers (ISPs) extensively targeting online content related to North Korea and India targeting topics of
Hindu extremism. Pakistan also focuses on blocking issues deemed sensitive to national
security such as the Balochi confl ict and independence movement, as well as religious
content deemed blasphemous. Although previous ONI testing found no evidence of
Internet fi ltering in Indonesia, recent testing revealed that ISPs are substantially fi ltering online pornography and selectively targeting political, blasphemous, and Internettool-related content. In Thailand fi ltering primarily concentrates on political content
in reaction to sensitive events such as the 2009 political unrest that gripped the
country. OpenNet Initiative testing found no evidence of Internet fi ltering in Bangladesh, Malaysia, or the Philippines.
Internet in Asia
Asia is home to one of the most connected countries in the world, and some of the
least connected. In recent years, the region has seen tremendous growth, with several
states identifying ICT growth as an integral part of their socioeconomic development.
The mobile sector in particular has grown exponentially — an important development
in countries with relatively underdeveloped fi xed telecommunications infrastructure.
In some countries, fi xed infrastructure development has stagnated, eclipsed by the
rapid rollout of mobile connectivity.
South Korea remains a world leader in Internet connectivity with one of the highest
penetration rates and data transfer speeds in the world.
1 South Korea has penetration
rates exceeding 81 percent
2 and an average broadband connection speed of 17 Mbps,
the highest in the world and more than double the rate of second-ranked Hong Kong.
3
While not as high as South Korea, Malaysia also has a relatively substantial Internet
penetration rate of 55.9 percent
4 and, like many in the region, a rapidly growing