This is something for us all to think about in these strange days we find ourselves in.
Stephen Michael Kellat Point of Contact & Leader, Ubuntu Ohio Begin forwarded message: Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 17:35:07 +0100 From: Collin Anderson <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Subject: [liberationtech] Dimming the Internet: Detecting Throttling as a Mechanism of Censorship in Iran Libtech, Today, my latest paper “Dimming the Internet: Detecting Throttling as a Mechanism of Censorship in Iran,” a documentation on three years of the use of bandwidth throttling as a means of political censorship in Iran, was posted on the publishing site arXiv. Blogpost: http://cgcsblog.asc.upenn.edu/2013/06/20/dimming-the-internet-detecting-throttling-as-a-mechanism-of-censorship-in-iran-2/ Paper (arXiv): http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.4361 “Dimming the Internet" uses a three-year dataset of network measurements as a monitoring service for political throttling, then applies the methodology to shed light on the recent history of censorship in Iran, and finds that Iran’s Internet has experienced prolonged and significant disruptions timed annually near the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and 25 Bahman, the first anniversary of the contested elections, and protests over the depreciation of the value of the Iranian Rial. Through the Measurement Lab (M-Lab) platform, anti-censorship researchers gain a diverse and non-partisan perspective on a network that is often opaque and difficult to access from outside. The results described not only shed light on instances of censorship, but also the manner in which public networks are subjected to a greater degree of disruption than those of business, universities and governments. Iran is not alone in this behavior, with Syria, Bahrain, Myanmar and Vietnam reportedly utilizing similar tactics. As stories of connection throttling timed with political instability grow and access to international communications platforms remains a necessary means for expression otherwise denied, “Dimming the Internet” provides a framework for accountability on a trend that thus far has been opaque. In the coming months, the Center for Global Communication Research at the Annenberg School for Communication will expand on this methodology as a means to account for historical cases and monitor this phenomenon on an ongoing basis globally. Cordially, Collin -- *Collin David Anderson* averysmallbird.com | @cda | Washington, D.C. _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-us-ohio Post to : [email protected] Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-us-ohio More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
