of our set of findings are the product of study of the political, social, cultural, and religious
issues in each of the states we have reviewed. While there is no doubt filtering underway in
places around the world that we have yet to uncover, our goal in this volume is to be as comprehensive as possible.
The core of the data we present is found in short reports covering each state that we have
studied in depth, with an overview for each of the three regions—east Asia, the Middle East
and North Africa, and central Asia—identifying themes and trends across states. The section
on testing results for each state sets forth the types of content blocked by category and
includes documentation of the most noteworthy content-specific findings.
We intend to update this study annually. Our intention is to develop a publicly accessible
online database of filtering test results worldwide over time. Taken together, these reports represent a starting point in understanding the nature and future of global Internet filtering.
In addition to the state-specific data, we present a series of chapters that builds arguments
grounded in our empirical findings about Internet filtering. The first short chapter, by Robert
Faris and Nart Villeneuve, includes a set of issues that emerge from the data: trends and
themes from a global perspective. Our chapter 2 gives an overview of the politics and practice
of Internet filtering. The third chapter, by Ross Anderson and Steven Murdoch, considers the
technology that powers the Internet filtering and highlights its strengths and limitations. The
fourth chapter, by Mary Rundle and Malcolm Birdling, takes up the extent to which international law might bear on Internet filtering. Our chapter 5 examines the ethical issues for corporations seeking to avail themselves of markets in states that filter. The final chapter, by Ronald
Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski, looks in depth at the impact of Internet filtering upon the activist
community that increasingly relies upon the Internet for mission-critical activities.
While we bring our own normative commitments to this work—those of us who have contributed to this work tend to favor the free flow of bits as opposed to proprietary control of information, whether by states or companies or both—our goal is not to point fingers or assign
blame, but rather to document a trend that we believe to be accelerating and to set that trend
in context. We seek to prompt further conversation across cultures and disciplines about what
changes in Internet filtering practices mean for the future of the Internet as well as the future of
markets, social norms, and modes of governance around the world. We look forward to the
conversations as others put these data into the proper, broader context—into the larger mosaic of political and cultural freedom—into which they belong.
Notes
1. For one of many contemporaneous accounts, see John Palfrey, On Being Filtered in Tunisia, or, What WSIS Should
Really Focus On, http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/palfrey/2005/11/14/on-being-filtered-in-tunisia-or-what-wsis-shouldreally-focus-on/.
2. Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (New York: Basic Books, 1999), 53–54.
4
Jonathan Zittrain and John Palfrey
issues in each of the states we have reviewed. While there is no doubt filtering underway in
places around the world that we have yet to uncover, our goal in this volume is to be as comprehensive as possible.
The core of the data we present is found in short reports covering each state that we have
studied in depth, with an overview for each of the three regions—east Asia, the Middle East
and North Africa, and central Asia—identifying themes and trends across states. The section
on testing results for each state sets forth the types of content blocked by category and
includes documentation of the most noteworthy content-specific findings.
We intend to update this study annually. Our intention is to develop a publicly accessible
online database of filtering test results worldwide over time. Taken together, these reports represent a starting point in understanding the nature and future of global Internet filtering.
In addition to the state-specific data, we present a series of chapters that builds arguments
grounded in our empirical findings about Internet filtering. The first short chapter, by Robert
Faris and Nart Villeneuve, includes a set of issues that emerge from the data: trends and
themes from a global perspective. Our chapter 2 gives an overview of the politics and practice
of Internet filtering. The third chapter, by Ross Anderson and Steven Murdoch, considers the
technology that powers the Internet filtering and highlights its strengths and limitations. The
fourth chapter, by Mary Rundle and Malcolm Birdling, takes up the extent to which international law might bear on Internet filtering. Our chapter 5 examines the ethical issues for corporations seeking to avail themselves of markets in states that filter. The final chapter, by Ronald
Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski, looks in depth at the impact of Internet filtering upon the activist
community that increasingly relies upon the Internet for mission-critical activities.
While we bring our own normative commitments to this work—those of us who have contributed to this work tend to favor the free flow of bits as opposed to proprietary control of information, whether by states or companies or both—our goal is not to point fingers or assign
blame, but rather to document a trend that we believe to be accelerating and to set that trend
in context. We seek to prompt further conversation across cultures and disciplines about what
changes in Internet filtering practices mean for the future of the Internet as well as the future of
markets, social norms, and modes of governance around the world. We look forward to the
conversations as others put these data into the proper, broader context—into the larger mosaic of political and cultural freedom—into which they belong.
Notes
1. For one of many contemporaneous accounts, see John Palfrey, On Being Filtered in Tunisia, or, What WSIS Should
Really Focus On, http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/palfrey/2005/11/14/on-being-filtered-in-tunisia-or-what-wsis-shouldreally-focus-on/.
2. Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (New York: Basic Books, 1999), 53–54.
4
Jonathan Zittrain and John Palfrey