|
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) today released its first 'Internet Watch Report, "The Internet and Elections: the 2006 Presidential Election in Belarus" The report presents the findings of ONI's effort to monitor the Internet during Belarus' recent presidential elections. Amidst fears that the authoritarian regime of President Aleksandr Lukashenaka was going to close down Belarus political cyberspace during the elections, ONI testing found little evidence of systematic and comprehensive filtering, despite earlier ONI investigations that established the regimes capability to do so. ONI monitoring during the elections showed that, on average, opposition and independent media websites remained accessible throughout the monitoring period. ONI testing revealed a number of serious irregularities that disrupted access to certain opposition and independent media websites at strategic moments during and after the vote. ONI's Internet Watch Reports" will investigate emerging trends in Internet filtering and control, taking a detailed look at events, policies, technologies and countries where filtering and content controls are occurring in new and unexpected ways, or where filtering has been alleged but undetected using conventional ONI testing methodologies. They are designed to test hypotheses, refine monitoring techniques, and report on the cutting edge of the global informational battle space. Belarus report: < http://www.opennetinitiative Press release: <http://www.opennetinitiative The OpenNet Initiative: <http://www.opennetinitiative The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) is a collaborative partnership of four leading academic institutions: the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme, University of Cambridge, and the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University. **** To change your Berkman Center subscriptions, visit the following url: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu |
