So I've talked a lot about censorship from a government standpoint; however, what do users in these countries do about not having internet?? Do they just suck it up or do they try to get around the issue somehow?
Well as you may have guessed (or known) there's always going to be a backup plan. When Napster got shut down did P2P music sharing stop? Of course not.
So, what methods are used to bypass different firewalls put in place by a government? This article posted in the Financial Post mentions a few methods used. Most notably are proxy programs and even Google cache. Proxies trick firewalls into thinking the traffic is coming from somewhere else. These options are only a few from a long list. This study (Leaping Over the Firewall) that was performed researches Azerbaijan, Iran, Burma, and China (countries known to restrict internet use). The study notes and researches 12 different ways of getting around internet restrictions.
I've mentioned ethics in my previous posts so I figured I'd ask this question: Do you think it's okay for users to employ methods to get around governmental internet restrictions?
Well, the question I have is what happens when the government from these countries finds out what you are doing? Is it worth the risk? Ai WeiWei in China is one prime example. Here is a Frontline video (http://video.pbs.org/video/1862488102). Now, he's in jail. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-14/ai-weiwei-arrested-in-beijing-dissident-artist-finds-out-how-far-he-can-go/
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, people need to be ready to face any repercussions that may come from getting around government internet restrictions. I am on the fence about whether or not it is okay...for instance in China, they are going to every length to block massive amounts of material from their people, I do not think that that is right. As for here I don't think that I have ever gone to look up the type of information that would be blocked by the government...but I guess if you are into that and know how to get past it, go ahead, but just know whats gonna happen if you get caught.
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