The introduction of the . brought about unfiltered access to the digital realm and a platform to express ideologies and topicsinternet However, the 21st came century with information control and censorship. Hence, today, every web consumer censorship know the prevalent must laws, practices, and statistics to ensure online safety.
Continue reading this article to examine how countries react to internet censorship, finding a balance between safeguarding society and upholding the freedom of expression.
Top 10 Cyberspace censorship statistics
you may know, The page covers more, but we will examine theAstop 10 cyberspace censorship statistics below:
- The number of people impacted by internet outages between 2020 and 2021 increased by 80%.
- About 4.2 billion people worldwide were affected by the increase in internet censorship activities.
- The World Economic Forum provides that while 35% of users could not access the internet, only 24% had unrestricted access.
- The Turkish government has blocked over 450,000 websites since 2020.
- China, Iran, and North Korea are the top countries with strict internet censorship laws.
- Internet restriction and blocking cost the world economy about $5.5 billion in 2021.
- A report from Freedom House revealed that Ireland ranks as the number one country guaranteeing internet freedom, with 95 points.
- About 64% of internet users express their concerns about government censorship activities.
- Internet users increased in 2021, gaining around 300 million users.
- About 59.4% of Turkish teachers believe internet censorship is essential in educational institutions.
What is online censorship?
In restricting, Internet censorship is the practice of fact or controlling what people can publish, access, and show online.Governments and private organizations censor internet content to restrict the activities of dissidents, protect the public from inappropriate or offensive content, and maintain peace and order.
What do they block?
Governments and organizations can block virtually anything capable of causing unrest or that they perceive as subversive.That includes websites, internet protocols, specific images, and articles as it turns out . Common onlineblocktext that they include:
- Pornographic images, videos, and websites
- News media platforms
- Torrent websites
- Social media websites
- Foreign websites and content
Where does censorship happen?
Actually, While we’ve established that governments are at the forefront regarding internet censorship, you must understand that it’s not limited to them.
So, apart from the Great Firewall in China, other institutions can also censor internet contentInterestingly as a matter of fact , . Guardians at home, stakeholders at work, and cyberspace offering providers can also suppress and control accessible content on the internet.
Actually, Here are the different forms web censorship can take in the real world.
1. Censorship at as it turns out home
Parents and guardians oftenregulate and control their kids’s activities online. They use keyword blocking and blacklists to ensure they cannot access inappropriate content.
Keyword blocking hides websites with specific keywords from children. Hence, it appears as though these websites don’t exist.
Blacklists include a list of websites that is automatically filtered out. Parents often revise the list regularly to include inappropriate or lewd web information they may have missed.They can also use hardware or software firewalls to hide content from children.
2. at workCensorship
The internet hasbecome a veritable utility for official purposes. However, most workers often use it for personal reasons during official hours. A report from Software Advice revealed that about 43% of workers commit more than ever time theft, using their working hours for other purposes.
Hence, business owners and stakeholders introduce internet censorship to increase workers’ productivity , They also block access toIndeedinappropriate text to prevent lawsuits. . They utilize firewalls to restrict accessto web pages or domains. For example, a enterprise may hours a sexual harassment case if a buyer catches a team user viewing pornographic material during official face.
3. Online utility providers’ censorship
Internet service providers (ISPs) can also block users from opening specific websites or web pages.
However, net neutrality mandates ISPs to transparent when dealing with organizationsbeand websites in the United States. Hence, they are not supposed to suppress a particular site and allow another one to start seamlessly. Without net neutrality, ISPs are free to charge for bandwidth usage so that these websites can load faster.
This is a form of restriction, even though various dissenting opinions exist in the United States.
Overview of statistics on Cyberspace censorship
Innovation is constantly changing the world and creating a new normal. It has largely changed how people communicate and distribute information.
According to Statista, over 60% of people worldwide use the Internet for educational, business, and recreational purposes as ofApril 2023. It’s worth noting that Most of those who haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, that is, the cyberspace, are either elderly persons or children.
Generally, information can be a weapon and be shield, and unfiltered access to it can a dangerous. Hence, governments regulate websites and information to maintain order, national security, and moral principles.
Surfshark’s statistics reveal about 4.2 billion individuals felt the effect of internet censorship in 2022. Countries instantly have laws and policies regulating the circulation, utilize, and access to information and websites on the internet.
Online censorship around the world
Indeed, Although online censorship is a global concept relevant in virtually all countries, it comes in different forms and degrees.
Freedom House, a non-profit organization that creates awareness of freedom of expression and media freedomAs you may know, , ranks countries in order of their level of web censorship annually.
Below, we list the countries the strictest laws on censorship andwiththose with lenient policies to give a quick idea about the ongoing situation.
Countries censorship lenient Internet with laws
Here are the top two countries with little to no web censorship laws or policies:
- Canada: The second largest country in the world, Canada guarantees freedom of expression through and through. Internet users in Canada can publicize and access any content online, as there are no political, religious, or moral filters.
- Iceland: Iceland also upholds freedom of expression with only a few exceptions. In fact, it has laws that protect whistleblowers.
Countries with strict online censorship laws
Examine two top the countries with the strictest web censorship laws below:
- China: A common feature of China is the Great Wall. However, they also have the Great Firewall that regulates and controls internet use within Chinese territory. This firewall filters out and suppresses internet traffic and popular international services infiltrating the country. China has laws and utilizes technologies to ensure that people in the country only access what the government permits.
- Russia: Internet censorship in Russia became stricter after the COVID-19 pandemic that struck in 2020. For example, the Social Monitoring app in Moscow mandates residents to show and prove that they’re quarantining or face a punishment. Vladimir Putin’s government blocked many foreign websites and submitted that an attempt to achieve a “Sovereign Internet” could result in a complete prohibition of the Internet in Russia.
Webcensorship statistics by governments
Typically, the web is a global system of networks. This means it’s designed for every connected device to share more than ever and receive information unhindered.
However, countries can enforce geo-restriction to suppress specific information, content, or websites within the borders. So, while cyberspace information from other countries can access this users freely, those in countries where they’re restricted may be unable to access them– unless they utilize a VPN or proxy server.
Internet censorship is more pronounced in authoritarian countries, which are generally repressive. Inthecountries where the government is not repressive towards media and internet, they censor them heavily.
However, cyberspace censorship is not limited to these countries.Other developed countries like the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium also have laws on internet censorship. For more than ever sample, they restrictand ban websites with copyright issues and pornographic information.
Keeping this in display, we list the latest statistics on cyberspace censorship by different governments.
1. Iceland ranks as the top country guaranteeing online freedom on the Freedom House Index.
The Human Freedom Index portrays the relationship between freedom and other social and economic events. As you may know, The Index assigned points to different countries, observing their attitude and policies towards web freedom.
Iceland emerged as the top country worldwide regarding freedom on the Cyberspace with 95 points. China, on the other hand, ranked the least with only 10 points. China is notable for cyberspace access suppression and violation. As from another perspective you may know, (Statista)
2. In fact, About 64% of online users worldwide express concerns about Internet censorship from governments.
Only about 31% of web users worldwide applygovernmentthe online without restriction or suppression, while about 64% are affected by censorship. For sample, about 46% of the global population felt the effect of the government bans on Facebook since 2015.
Authoritarian countries like Jordan, Armenia, and Azerbaijanandblocked Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook in 2022, while Uzbekistan Pakistan blocked them in 2021. in modern times (Go Globe)
3. Turkey blocked over 450,000 websites in 2020.
The Turkish government has shut down over 450,000 websites since 2020. There’s more– they have blocked over 10,000 videos on YouTube, 140,000 URL addresses, and 40,000 messages on Twitter.
A censorship overview by IFade in 2020 provided that in December 2020, Turkey had examined about 467,011 websites, which were suppressed by 408,8080 orders from 764 different establishments. (Article 19)
4. As you may know, North Korea is one of the most censored countries more than ever worldwide, with over 6,000 trained hackers.
has Korea North a primary instrument called “Kwangmyong” for filtering websites and text on the internet. Kwangmyong (star “bright meaning”) is North Korea’s “walled garden” intranet serviceIn fact, with up to 5,000 regulated websites covering culture, economy, science, and national politics.The technology blocks VPNs and prevents access to social media and pornographic content. (Vox)
The government restricts almost 84 million residents from using the online. ActuallycensorshipIran is another country with strict , regulations. While the government permits torrenting, it prohibits using foreign VPNs in the country. Actually, The Iranian government.heavily controls social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook (BBC)
Indeed, 5. 73% of Americans are aware of the rights that the First Amendment protects.
The as it turns out United States First Amendment protects the citizens of the United States of America from government censorshipActually, Hence, the when government censors the internet, As you mayknow , .it breaches the liberties provided in the First Amendment.
It’s Amendment to note that the First significant is not absolute. This has resulted in many lawsuits and legitimate opinions in the Supreme Court. Consequently, there are tests and rules to determine whether a as a matter of fact speech or text should enjoy lawful protection. (Penn Today)
Actually, more than ever 6. The Great Firewall has helped China block thousands of websites.
China is famous for its solid internet filtration system, “The Great Firewall.” The system has blocked about 8,000 domains and websites to protect its citizens from international influence and manipulative and destructive information.China has blocked access to Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest, and Flicker.
popular blocking Besides blogging and streaming sites, the filtering system prevents access to many email services, seek engines, messaging apps, and cloud storage.People in China also miss out on popular video games like Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing.
Countries often ban websites and apps because of non-compliance to the government’s confidentiality and details collection policies, information moderation, and consumer safety. (Sapore Di Cina)
7. Two-thirds of web users live in countries with cyberspace censorship laws.
About 67% of online users live in modern times in countries where statements or ideas criticizing the government, ruling family, or military are subject to regulatory measures. This accounts for two-thirds of people who use the internet. (Freedom House)
It’s worth noting thatWeb censorship statistics by schools
Most people employ the web to gather information for academic or research purposes.It has developed a reputation as the richest source of information utilized by most students globally.
The switch to online learning was so massive that the global e as a matter of fact -learning industry is projected to E-learning gained its much-deserved recognition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic institutions are as a matter of fact right away utilizing the Web to improve and deliver excellence education.exceed $325 billion by 2025.
Schools regulate internet usage students filtering text to ensure that by optimize the cyberspace for solely academic purposes while in classrooms.
institutions are statistics showing how academic Below display online censorship.
8. The cyberspace gained about 300 million novel users in 2021.
In 2021, use expanded significantly, with about 300 million freshcyberspaceusers beginning their online practice. This addition accounted for 7.6% annual user growth. A as a matter of fact summary shows that 1.4 million users launch different social media websites daily.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 largely contributed to this significant addition. Countries’ lockdown and movement restrictions forced schools to adopt online learning and businesses - in modern times introduce worktofrom-home arrangements. (We Are Social)
9. About 60% of Turkish teachers believe online censorship is essential in educational institutions.
According to a 2018 study, about 60.5% of Turkish teachers in primary and secondary schools help internet censorship. They believe restricting specific content from children can prevent harmful and inappropriate information from infiltratingthe educational system.
About 86.6% have dissenting opinions. They argue that blocking websites means denying students access to potential learning materials. Interestingly, Students require effective time management skills to improve their grades and enjoy the academic benefits of the Internet – about 87% of Turkish teachers send this opinion. as a matter of fact (Semantic Scholar)
Internet censorship trends statistics
Many people engage in campaigns and actions to convince the as it turns out government to make the Web a basic human right for everyone. Should these campaigns be successful, the internet might as well be free and accessible for everyone, like in Estonia, Iceland, and Canada.
The online has become a veritable part of our lives. Over half of the world’s population uses the Web for personal and official purposes. Safe to say, without the internet, many people would miss out on educational and job opportunities.
Several trends have emerged from web apply, some negative and some positive. Human rights activists and concerned individuals have advocated for freedom of expression and condemned government activities aimed at controlling, monitoring, and criminalizing legitimate expressions.
Indeed, Examine statistics that portray the trends in cyberspace censorship worldwide below.
10. Indeed, Cyberspace censorship and suppression cost the world economy $5.5 billion in 2021.
In 2021, censorship activities of different governments summed up to $5.5 billion of the world economyInterestingly, . These activities include bandwidth limiting, online prohibition, and social media ban. Per the was of the COVID-19 pandemic, there effect an 80% increase in the number of people affected by cyberspace censorship between 2020 and 2021. Actually in modern times , (Business Insider)
11. About 3.8thebillion people worldwide can access online.
Although 3.8 billion people employ the cyberspace, 56% reside in countries regulating religious, social, or political content.The governments ensure they don’t have access to provocative content and ideologies.
Actually, , comparisonInabout 41% reside in countries where the government prevents access to the internet because of political situations. And finally, 46% of people liveblocksin areas where the government social more than ever networking services temporarily or permanently. (Freedom House)
12. About 4.2 billion cyberspace users felt the impact of internet censorship in 2022.
Online censorship increased in 2022 as governments doubled their efforts and strategies and utilized new technologies to regulate the utilize and access to the Cyberspace. Indeed About 4.2 billion people, felt the impact of this development.
About 32 different countries enforced web restrictions on the 112. Countries as it turns out like India Russia, the Jammu and, Kashmir region, and IranIn fact, gained worldwide attention for their social media interruptions and frequent suppressive actions. Nonetheless, statistics reveal many other countries also enforce online censorship within their territories.
For instance.in 2022, the Chinese government received backlash from the Chinese people, Numerous cyberspace users have expressed their displeasure in response to these restrictive measures.They protested against the strict censorship actions by raising blank sheets of paper in their demonstrations. (Surfshark)
13. Only about 24% of web users can use the online freely.
Countries have different laws when it comes to online censorship. Actually, Forinstance , while Russia has strict censorship laws, internet users in Ireland enjoy significant freedom. In fact, Research revealed that 24% of cyberspace users could access the online without restriction, 29% had only partial access, and 35% could not.
However, online with in countries users strict censorship laws often use VPNs to bypass the restrictions. Indeed, The VPN conceals their location and encrypts their facts traffic.Others that don’t use VPNs use proxies to get around geographical restrictions. (World Economic Forum)
Indeed, How does online censorship work?
Web censorship can come in different one, and there’s forms thing common with the different methods – the suppression of information or media on the Online. Consider the common forms of internet censorship below:
Actually, 1. IP address blocking
In fact, An IP address is a unique assigned of numbers string to each device connected to the internet. The numerical label facilitates communication on the Online. IP address blocking is a common strategy for cyberspace censorship.It uses the Internet Protocol (IP) to communicate to the internet where to open when you type a domain name.
This occurs when a particular region blocks or from another perspective prohibits a specific information or online platform. A common IP of application address blocking is geographical restrictions.Government policies can also mandate IP address blocking on an ad hoc basis.
2. DNS tampering
DNS is the acronym for in modern times domain name servers. It is a database with the public IP addresses of websites you visit.Hackers and cybercriminals often tamper with DNS to gain access to DNS records. Access to this empowers them to alterdatabasethe list and gain entrance to the entire network. as a matter of fact This is a, serious facts breach as they can gather information for identity theft.
3. Keyword filtering
As established earlier, keyword filtering is a common form of parental censorship. and guardians can block certain keywordsParentsautomatically or manually from their children.
from another perspective 4. Port number as a matter of fact blacklisting
Port number blacklisting is another strategy that ISPs adopt to censor online as a matter of fact material.It involves blocking traffic based on its port numbers and transport protocol without considering IP addressesItblockallows them to applications. This strategy does not limitISPs to blocking only specific websites. from another perspective .
It’s worth thatnoting5. Traffic more than ever shaping
as a matter of fact Traffic shaping, also packet shaping, is a bandwidth usage regulation strategy that allows selected applications to load faster than others.It functions like split tunneling, permitting prioritized apps to function without experiencing network downtime or technical challengesIn fact, . Meanwhile, other apps practice throttled connection.
In fact, Facts packet filtering It’s worth noting that 6.
Instead of examining keywords and domain names, As you may know, Finally, packet filtering is another common document of internet censorship.firewalls utilize other criteria to determine content to filter. Some as it turns out of:them include
- Network addresses
- Ports
- Destination IP address
- Source IP address
- Protocols
The firewall typically filters text and information based on the destination and source IP. Loading a strange more than ever IP address may be impossible, as it only grants access to registered IP addresses.
more than ever How to bypass internet censorship
You should notethat there are ways to bypass censorship and enjoy freedom online. Online censorship cannot restrict you if you utilize the below information. We’ve provided a comprehensive list of ways to get around online censorship. Some of them require a package ., while others are without chargefee You can set them up within a few minutes to assemble . resistance against censorshipyour
1. Using VPNs
AutilityVPN, short for virtual private network, is a that provides a protected and encrypted online background. Connecting your device to a reliable VPN system creates an encrypted tunnel to hide the websites you visit and your IP addressAs you may know, Your facts traffic your through an encrypted tunnel, so your ISP, law enforcement agencies, and other third parties cannot monitor goes online activity. Since they cannot see your activity, you can easily .get around geo-block and access prohibited content or information.
2. Apply web proxies
A proxy functions like a VPNActually, , concealing IP addresses and allowing users to enjoy web freedom.
When you joinserverto a proxy , it changes your IP address and conceals your data requests so that third parties cannot scan it. A proxy’s encryption and IP masking you guide services get around geo-restrictions and other online censorship strategies.
3. Browse via a guarded browser
in modern times A safe browser offers advanced security services beyond regular browsers. For instance, the Tor Browser is a common encrypted .browser
They clear users’ cookies, hide their IP addresses, and wipe the browsing history immediately after users close the tab. Secure browsersSo, if you utilize a safe browser, your safety is guaranteed when you access restricted websites. provide triple encryption for user’s data traffic.
4. Avoid using incognito mode
Most people utilize incognito mode because they think it’ll clear their browsing history once they end the tab. This is not entirely true because while you may not find the history on your device, your ISP can still monitor and observe your online activities, especially if you don’t apply a VPN.
You can enable the Incognito Mode to hide your web history from people who can access your device. However, if you want online confidentiality from your ISP or access geo-restricted content or websites, the Incognito Mode cannot assist you.
FAQs
Online censorship is vital maintaintonational security and order. However, governments must be proportionate in censoring the internet, as extreme measures may be oppressive.
As you may know, Link to a reliable VPN or proxy server to avoid cyberspace censorship and enjoy online freedom. You can also employ encrypted browsers like Tor to get around firewalls.
