OpenNet Initiative
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run internet filtering programs. Participating academic institutions include the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto; Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School; the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at University of Oxford and the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme, University of Cambridge.
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[edit] Methods
The ONI uses several methods to test and document internet censorship in a country.
- Development and deployment of a suite of technical enumeration tools and core methodologies for the study of Internet filtering and surveillance;
- Capacity-building among networks of local advocates and researchers;
- Advanced studies exploring the consequences of current and future trends and trajectories in filtering and surveillance practices, and their implications for domestic and international law and governance regimes.[1]
[edit] ONI Principal Investigators
The ONI principal investigators are
Ronald Deibert: Director, The Citizen Lab, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto
John Palfrey: Executive Director, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School
Rafal Rohozinski: Director, Advanced Network Research Group, Cambridge Security Programme, University of Cambridge
Jonathan Zittrain: Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation, Oxford University[1]
[edit] Major Accomplishments
[edit] Psiphon
Psiphon is a censorship circumvention solution that allows users to access blocked web pages in countries where the Internet is censored. Psiphon allows a regular home computer to act as a personal, encrypted proxy server that allows the administrator to specify a username and password that is, in turn, given to someone in a country where internet censorship is prevalent so that users in that country will be able to browse the internet in a secure, uncensored manner.
[edit] Censorship Research Reports
There are many research papers available from the ONI that show just how pervasive internet censorship is in a certain country or region. The topics covered in these papers range anywhere from the software or solutions instituted by the said parties to censor the Internet, but what kind of content is blocked as well (political, pornographic, or other).[2]
[edit] ACCESS DENIED
The ONI published its first book, ACCESS DENIED: The Practice and Politics of Internet Filtering, through MIT Press in 2008.
