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How Internet Censorship Works

computer.howstuffworks.com — One of the early nicknames for the Internet was the "information superhighway" because it was supposed to provide the average person with fast access to a practically limitless amount of data. For many users, that's exactly what accessing the Internet is like. For others, it's as if the information superhighway has some major roadblocks in the form

Who dugg this? Made popular Feb 15, 2008

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  • fartbuttes, on 02/15/2008, -9/+36hey thanks for signing your name Pie I'm glad we could have this conversation and in the future I will remember to call you Pie since you signed your name that way, thanks.

    -fartbuttes
  • skunkworker, on 02/15/2008, -0/+15Well China censors alot of stuff, I wonder what all those chinese hackers think reading all of this stuff.
  • LexMortis, on 02/15/2008, -0/+14"The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."
    -John Gilmore
  • guitarf1, on 02/15/2008, -0/+13Because every time you view the next page, your bombarded with twice the ads as if it was on a single page. My guess is $$$
  • seanc6610, on 02/15/2008, -0/+11I hate howstuffworks articles, why can't they just put it all on one page?
  • moletimer, on 02/15/2008, -0/+10You could always piss them off by using Adblock.
  • valimar77, on 02/15/2008, -0/+10"Some countries go well beyond restricting access. The Myanmar government allegedly keeps Internet cafés under surveillance with computers that automatically take screenshots every few minutes. China has an advanced filtering system known internationally as the Great Firewall of China. It can search new Web pages and restrict access in real time. It can also search blogs for subversive content and block Internet users from visiting them. Cuba has banned private Internet access completely -- to get on the Internet, you have to go to a public access point."
    Informative and worth reading. Good submission.
  • segiterrus, on 02/15/2008, -1/+10first youtube..now this....
  • rz8472, on 02/15/2008, -0/+7I also hate how the digital divide is also rarely mentioned. There are millions of people in this country who can't afford anything better than 56K, and that means that their chances of upward mobility in today's world have become severely limited.
  • fkr3, on 02/15/2008, -0/+6Digg censors stuff all the time - porn, illegal crap, spam, etcetera. Their terms and conditions specify a whole bunch of stuff you're not allowed to submit, say or do on their site. But not all forms of censorship are 'evil'.
  • Samsong, on 02/15/2008, -3/+8A comment cannot be a douche, but a person, like you, can.
  • starexplorer, on 02/15/2008, -1/+5good one
  • HomerS1, on 02/16/2008, -0/+4websites have ads???? Haven't seen one in quite a while.
    God Bless Adblock and Firefox's cookie blocker
  • usrlocalbin, on 02/15/2008, -0/+4Internet Censorship sucks huge ass.
    Thats how it works
  • inactive, on 02/15/2008, -1/+5acess to porn is difficult? its like 85% of the internet, you cannot get jesus to stop it

    -squirrel
  • retawd, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4delete this... Stupid Digg comment system...
  • xXShadowstormXx, on 02/15/2008, -1/+4Right. ...
  • GhostyBoy, on 02/15/2008, -0/+3As it turns out, the purpose of freedom of speech is actually to get access to massive amounts of porn, watch flash cartoons and get lame email forwards from your grandma!
  • Mootabolife, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2I bet most don't know they're being censored, just like in the US.
  • Nougat, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2You can't completely censor it. Once information is out there, it's out there, and it can be found. 09 F9, for example. The AOL search database for example. The CoS docs and videos, for example. These are all things that their creators would like to make private again, and it simply cannot happen.
  • diggit83, on 02/15/2008, -4/+6"Information superhighway"

    I ***** hated that meme
  • Oea420, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2That's a very ignorant statement. To us in the United States, it seems foreign, because we have access to it all round it. This is because the internet just came about, and the government/business didnt have much time to lay their claws into it before it was so pervasive. To a foreign country, where the internet was seen as something to 'bring into' the country, they had full control over it from the start. Access, equipment, etc. It's hard to find a way to avoid censorship when all access to the internet is at controlled locations to begin with. It's very possible to censor the internet, which is something we need to fight. I have a feeling the internet will be humanity's saving grace from the seemingly inherent need for complete control and the conflicts that ensue.
  • fkr3, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2So you're saying they're the opposite of censorship while they censor their site and our actions on it? Or they're the opposite of 'evil' censorship because they only practice the 'for the good of the majority' kind?
  • inactive, on 02/15/2008, -0/+2*****
  • mal1964, on 02/15/2008, -1/+3I understand that, Its not what I'm saying though.
  • EatingPie, on 02/15/2008, -10/+12My disappointment was the lack of discussion about filtering Porn at libraries.

    They discussed porn downloads creating "a hostile environment" at work. If it does this for adults at work, what about people of all ages browsing the library for books? This has always bothered me.

    -Pie
  • Niffer, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1I had a Chinese transfer student for a lab partner last semester who didn't know she could find all sorts of banned information on the internet now that she's living in the US. Things like the Tiananmen Square protests are events that are only whispered about between close friends and family in China. She is part of the new Chinese middle class who can afford to travel (and see what they she's missing), but most of the country is still completely ignorant of their restricted environment.

    And I'm still trying to figure this one out.... she told me she didn't do so well on the Chinese version of the SAT, so they sent her to college to be an engineer. Apparently they don't see the value in having their best and brightest using science and math. Can anyone explain that one too me? Also, having your future determined by a test.... that's about as communist and China gets. She's cool though
  • boxybrzown, on 02/15/2008, -2/+3Porn is awesome, what's wrong with you?
  • mal1964, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2Digg is a example of the opposite of censorship.Sometimes(not all the time) you get what someone wants you to think is true of false.
  • lorismiths101, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1free speach is about saying what you feel is important and taking responsability for it. It's not about how much you pay to have the right to talk.
  • fkr3, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1Technology works for and against both sides. Various governments successfully censor a lot of things for the majority of the people in their country, and offer "special rewards" for the smaller demographic of people who are able to and do circumvent their filtering.
  • grungegbunny, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2Net Neutrality ftw.
  • ryan83189, on 02/15/2008, -1/+2You can't censor the internet, because the internet is no longer about cables and servers, but more about peoples expectation to connect via their computer to an unlimited knowledge base, and communicate anonymously . The instant our internet becomes censored, the people will create another "internet" to communicate in that way, and if they have enough sense, make sure that it is paid for and run by the people, for the people.
  • BlogCruiser, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1The Internet has become quite censored right here in the good ole U.S.A. It takes a different approach than out right banning but it is alive and well in the U.S. Part of it is called information overflow, some of it is called social engineering. Pretty good article though. If it is not there it must not exist hey? It is so much easier electronically to make things not exist, just hit the delete keys.

  • flarn2006, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1It doesn't.
  • MacSuxWindozSux, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1Access being easier in some places does not imply that it's difficult to access in other areas.

    In some areas there's some porn filtering, even if you can get around the filter, the material is still technically harder to access.
  • mal1964, on 02/15/2008, -0/+1 "Several sources told me" This kind! Most people automatically believe it, no questions asked. 2000 diggs
    http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Clinton_camp_bor ...
  • tgc1, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1We need to create a co-operative (Wi-Fi) Internet. Owned, run and built by the people. I'm tired of my data being held hostage by greedy corporations and irrational and stupid governments.
  • HomerS1, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1not to sound heartless, but many of those same people think nothing of spending $100 per month on Cable/Sattelite TV packages.
    The vast majority of people in the US who don't have broadband are either restricted by geography (rural) or choose to spend the money on something else.
  • sjin, on 08/10/2009, -0/+1Most people don't notice the censorship if they just browse domestic websites. Digg is not censored, last time I checked.
  • bryonsmothers, on 02/15/2008, -0/+0Censorship makes you blind to the truths of the world!!!
  • justanotherbum, on 02/15/2008, -0/+0They try and try but they can't censor bodily parts at the library, but they censor just about everything else...try it if you don't believe me. Also there are tons of sites which bar your entry unless you pay huge entry fees, ie: the scientific or scholarly articles...which are free if you can get to the library which contains them. Unfair! And there's growing pressure to subscribe to just about everything else (and you're out or on the slow track if you don't)...cause, as we know, web pages are expensive, but some of us just can't afford to keep up with it all. And I know, that's our fault, so why are we bitching?????
  • DavidEtes, on 12/13/2008, -0/+0Try to use http://world-secure-channel.com for example
  • jsin1276, on 02/16/2008, -0/+0The internet is serious business.
  • wolfenok, on 03/13/2008, -0/+0I like blogs and other services and hate the situation when I can't access it. So I use http://strongvpn.com VPN account. And it really helps. As a plus for me it has China language. Good connection, nice support team and service at all.
  • VonnegutSpeaks, on 02/15/2008, -2/+2Nice article, Mr. Strickland.
  • ojk007, on 02/15/2008, -5/+4LOL we all know you cant censor the Internet.
  • MacSuxWindozSux, on 02/15/2008, -5/+4Many libraries already stuff like net nanny on their computers for filter adult material.

    In countries where they don't makes such a hysterical ordeal over porn and drugs, there's less taboo and kids tend to leave them alone even though access is easier.

    -MacSuxWindozSux
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