We are currently immersed in a transition to the digital world where the Internet plays a very important role. One obvious thing that is reflected right now is that not all people have the same freedoms to use the network of networks. If we want to have a free, secure and reliable Internet connection, it is necessary that freedom of expression and association be respected. As all countries do not offer these guarantees, OONI Explorer with its reports, blog and programs aims to reflect the situation of the Internet by showing censorship and other forms of interference.
Each nation on the globe has its own legislation and its way of acting in relation to Internet connectivity. In some countries we have more freedom and we find a more neutral and free network. However, in other nations of the world the situation is quite different, and their citizens have more restrictions to use the Internet.
What is and what OONI Explorer offers us
OONI Explorer is an open data resource that, since 2012, investigates Internet censorship around the world. His work has collected millions of network measurements from more than 200 countries. Its objective is to publicize Internet censorship and other forms of network interference around the world. In this sense, it collects information on:
- Blocking websites and applications , such as checking if WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram are blocked.
- Searching for the most recently blocked websites .
- Network performance by checking the operation speed of thousands of networks around the world. In addition, it allows the exploration of data on the performance of the video transmission.
OONI Explorer receives millions of network measurements collected from more than 200 countries every day. This is a recent graph on global connectivity.
However, it offers us many more things, one of the most interesting is OONI Probe . It is a tool for Android and Windows that allows you to measure Internet censorship. Later we will deal with this topic in greater depth but first we will learn more about what they can offer us.
The fight against censorship of political events, media and more
Internet censorship is sometimes quite related to political events. Thus, for example, elections, protests and riots could be an example of detected cases of this type. For example, these are the last cases that OONI Explorer has detected in relation to this matter.
The reports are in English, this is thatof the 2019 constitutional referendum in Cuba . Another issue they deal with is the censorship of the media. In some countries, freedom of the press is threatened, they suffer from the blocking of independent media websites. Here are some examples of what they offer.
This is the report of the blocking of independent media websites in Venezuela . On the other hand, we also have the blocking of LGBTQI sites, these are some examples.
This is the report of the Grindr blockade by Iran . OONI Explorer reveals worldwide censorship in relation to the Internet. Thus, it shows us how minority groups are blocked around the world. Some groups like the LGBTQI see their rights to sexual freedom violated. Others, such as independent media, see their freedom of expression and the press limited, to which we have to add the violation of rights that occur in political events in undemocratic regimes. In the first link of the tutorial, where we access the OONI Explorer website, we can see the most recent reports in relation to censorship.
OONI Explorer reports, blog and tests
As we have commented previously, on the main page of the web we have the reports that have a greater notoriety. However, it should be noted that they are not the only ones. In fact, it has a reporting section . Here you can find more investigations and things related to censorship.
We also have the blog that has news more related to the improvements that OONI is implementing, such as the creation of its OONI Probe tool. It also has some research, surveys and interviews. On the other hand, we also have the test section. The different tests that we can perform with the OONI Probe application are explained here. For example, this would be the test related to web connectivity .
The search and countries sections
In the upper right corner of the OONI Explorer web page we find the Search and Countries sections. In this case, we are going to start with the Search section, if we press it we will get a screen like this:
The first thing we have to do is select the country, in this case I have decided on Spain. Then what I have done is select TOR in the Test type. In that it allows a great variety such as WhatsApp, Telegram and more. As you can see, the results I have obtained are fine, although some anomalies have been detected. The image above was only a fragment, the vast majority gave correct results showing an OK. This means that the TOR network, during that period of time, worked well, although at some point there was some small incidence.
Now we are going to see the Countries section if we click on it we will get a screen like this:
In the upper right corner we can choose between the different continents, to make it easier for us to find a country. In this case we have opted for the continent of Europe and I have selected Spain . Here we have a graph with the results that have been compiled for each OONI probe test category, as well as how many networks have been covered by the tests.
In later sections it also provides information about tests carried out on websites and instant messaging applications.
OONI Probe for mobile and for your PC
OONI Probe is the tool that OONI Explorer has developed to measure internet censorship. We have a version for mobiles with Android and iOS operating systems. For desktop computers, a version is available for Windows. If you want to try it on IOS devices you can download it from the App Store . If you choose the Android version, you can download it from the Play Store:
This is the main menu of OONI Probe in its mobile version:
Thanks to this app we will be able to carry out the following investigations:
- It collects evidence of internet censorship and allows you to check if certain websites and instant messaging applications are being blocked.
- Detect systems responsible for censorship and surveillance.
- We can measure the speed and performance of our network using a network diagnostic test (NDT). In addition, we can measure video streaming performance with the Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) test.
On the other hand, if you prefer to use a PC, you can download the Windows desktop version of the program from the following link . Once installed, a welcome screen like this will appear:
Thanks to this tool we can:
- Find out which websites are blocked.
- Test the performance of our network.
- Check which apps are blocked.
By running OONI Probe we are helping to increase the transparency of the Internet and show censorship. Finally, thanks to organizations like OONI Explorer, we can know the current situation in relation to censorship in many countries.