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Early Detection of Censorship Events With Psiphon Network Data

Authors:
Simin Kargar
Keith McManamen
Jacob Klein

Keywords: information controls; online censorship; Internet shutdown; circumvention tools; social media blocking; psiphon.

Abstract:
Over the past decade, circumvention tools have had a significant impact in ensuring access to censored content and preserving user privacy online. In addition, circumvention network data can be used to detect early indicators of Internet censorship and identify population-level effects of changes in the network environment. Monitoring network traffic for key indicators provides an opportunity to diagnose, analyze, and respond to online censorship events in real time. This paper examines the performance of Psiphon, a free and open source circumvention tool, during blocking events that occured over the past year in Iran, Iraq, and Turkmenistan. The study also offers insight into how Psiphon network data detected early signs of blocking in these examples. Through three case studies, we explore detailed data that were leveraged to improve Psiphon network resiliency during socially and politically critical times in various contexts.

Pages: 87 to 91

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2019

Publication date: March 24, 2019

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4413

ISBN: 978-1-61208-695-8

Location: Valencia, Spain

Dates: from March 24, 2019 to March 28, 2019