Countries are increasingly blocking access to social media, news sites and other websites for political reasons. In the United States, the Senate is considering a bill to block internet content deemed harmful by any company or individual that hosts it. What do you think about this?
The “what countries have no internet censorship” is a question that has been asked many times. The answer to the question is that there are currently 7 countries without internet censorship.
Internet censorship on a global scale: how governments block websites, what successful tactics are used, and why.
Many nations throughout the globe have sophisticated methods in place to limit open Internet access, displaying only sites allowed or aligned with the policies of the government in charge to users on their territory. These limitations are imposed at the backbone network level (i.e., the carriers that transport the Internet throughout the country), therefore they cannot be circumvented without the use of more complex obfuscation techniques.
Looking at why internet censorship is used (usually for more authoritarian forms of government), we’ll show you how countries censor the internet, what effective methods are used, and how to get around these controls in the guide below, with an emphasis on what is done in authoritarian states (where one also risks imprisonment or the death penalty for accessing prohibited information).
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Why do governments restrict access to some websites?
The government in poorer countries with more or less disguised dictatorships is concerned that people may use the internet to organize street disturbances or acquire unfiltered information, putting the organs of power or those in charge of politics in a terrible light. nationwide. For organizing events, flash mobs, and rioting, the Internet is a powerful tool.
To prevent individuals from distributing messages and arranging meetings, authoritarian regimes routinely ban the most widely used social networks in the world (Facebook and Twitter), as well as communications like WhatsApp and Skype.
This is one of the reasons why all Western sites that the government cannot control are censored in China, but it is not the only one. Those in authority are scared of tarnishing their public image and prefer to keep what occurs behind their boundaries hidden.
Countries like China and, particularly, North Korea, are highly concerned with concealing what its citizens think of them on the outside while also eager to display only favorable aspects to other nations across the globe.
In certain nations, such as the Arab world, there is also “social” internet censorship, which prevents people from accessing sites about sex, gambling, illicit drugs, and other themes.
With the commencement of the crisis in Ukraine in Russia, for example, all information is tightly restricted, and only government-approved content may be viewed. In actuality, all free information on the Internet is prohibited, with only institutional or journalistic sites “associated” with the government agenda being given access.
Another sort of censorship is “self-defense” censorship, in which material is blocked in order to prevent people from discovering how to circumvent the state’s blocks and filters. In essence, the purpose of internet censorship is to keep particular news and information from reaching public domain.
YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, the Google site, free blogs created using Blogger, WordPress, and many more are among the most banned websites in the world.
Governments’ Internet Blocking Techniques
Requesting that ISPs ban access to certain websites inside a nation using DNS blocking is one of the most effective and easiest methods to do so. In Italy, this strategy is also used to prevent access to pirated websites (hosted on foreign servers) that are hidden by the Guardia di Finanza.
If the state owns the whole Internet infrastructure, the most brutal governments may strengthen the blockage. A provider may block access to a website in the following ways:
- Blocking IP addresses
- Filter for transmission level
- Number of the Blocco tramite Autonomous System (ASN)
The last block is quite complex and enables you to effectively restrict access to practically all websites; in basic words, it is an identifying number for a range of IP addresses issued to a country’s provider. If a government wishes to prohibit a website, it may “trick” its infrastructure by using a smaller ASN that doesn’t include the blocked site’s IP. The government then makes routers believe that a site’s IP address is located inside the nation, limiting access.
The Great Firewall is China’s sophisticated control system, and it is one of the most effective in the world, since the authorities are always able to track down people seeking free information or information from overseas.
Which nations have the most internet censorship?
At the time of writing, the following nations use sophisticated censoring measures for Internet access:
- North Koreans have very restricted access to the internet. Some North Koreans (4%) have access to an internal Intranet that links to official media and institutional websites, but they have no access to international websites.
- Most Western and American websites, including as Facebook and Twitter, as well as political opposition and sexually explicit websites, are restricted in Iran. Proxy servers and other VPN software, on the other hand, work to get around the bans. Iran has long stated its desire to build its own closed, totally supervised Internet network.
- China is known for its “Great Firewall,” a firewall that acts as a regulated barrier to internet access, allowing Chinese citizens to freely surf the sites that are authorized. There are no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Blogger in China, but there are Chinese-only sites that are clearly controlled by the government.
- Because the internet was just recently introduced in Cuba, few Cubans use it. People get access to the Internet via public facilities, where they must first register and identify themselves.
- Sites that discuss politics are regulated or prohibited in Arab nations. Arab authorities have increased arrests of opposition bloggers and those who have disseminated news and information considered objectionable by rulers since the Arab Spring.
- The internet is banned in practically all of Central Asia’s former Soviet republics, with totalitarian governments like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan imposing even stricter restrictions.
- Eritrea is one of the world’s nations with the fewest basic liberties, to the point that the government may read communications without seeking permission. However, the great majority of people lack Internet connection, which is unlikely to be the primary issue given that it is one of the world’s poorest nations.
- Turkey has restricted access to a number of major websites and social media platforms, similar to what China and other Arab nations have done, but to a lesser extent.
- Russia has become the latest country to ban the Internet. It conducted thorough checks on all communications (emails, chats, messages, etc.) prior to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine; however, since the outbreak of the war, the control system has been strengthened, and many well-known sites, search engines, and social media platforms, such as Instagram, have been completely blocked. With the conflict in Ukraine, it was also suggested that Russia may fully disconnect from the global internet, similar to how North Korea does.
Travelers visiting these nations must follow rigorous Internet laws, avoid free information or anti-freedom websites, and utilize sophisticated security measures on all phones, tablets, and computers in their hands.
On the Comparitech website, you may use an instant online tool to see whether a website is prohibited in China, Russia, Turkey, and other countries where internet censorship is in effect. The same site also provides a globe map of internet censorship (shown above), which includes a full description of all the sites blocked in different regions of the world.
How to get over the filtered internet’s blocks
Blocks imposed by totalitarian countries are regarded to be difficult to circumvent by the average user. Travelers visiting these countries, as well as those who reside in Russia or China, may use a sophisticated obfuscation technology accessible only via premium VPN to escape being controlled (and spied on) and to view all the online sites they want.
We can bypass most active filters on the Internet line by choosing obfuscated servers, which mask Internet traffic with random, simple data, by installing an advanced VPN like NordVPN before departure in one of the countries listed above (or in “smell of censorship,” even if not present in the previous list) by installing an advanced VPN like NordVPN before departure in one of the countries listed above (or in “smell of censorship,” even if not present in the previous list).
Those who wish to attempt a free protection system may combine the protection of one Free VPN with the Tor connection to create a double layer of security. This isn’t certain to work, but it’s the only method to get through censorship filters on the internet.
Conclusions
Internet censorship is a well-established fact in many countries throughout the world: maintaining control over information and news is crucial for long-term authority, and any “dissenting voice” or uncontrolled information must be stopped and suppressed. As a result, even in nations where censorship is not suspected, we always advocate utilizing a VPN while traveling overseas for vacation or business.
For more information, see our instructions on how to browse the internet secretly using a proxy, vpn, or fake IP address, as well as the best VPNs for Android, free and unlimited iPhones.
The “internet censorship ranking” is a list of countries that block access to sites. It ranks each country based on how much they censor the internet.
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