Summary
Highlights
Internet censorship involves controlling who talks to whom and what they talk about. The 'who' is the user, the 'whom' is the publisher, and the 'what' is the information. Censors aim to stop information dissemination by blocking publication, discouraging access, or coercing users not to access information.
Using the example of blocking 'abc.com', the video illustrates how a user's browser queries a DNS server for an IP address. The DNS server either knows the IP or finds it recursively. Once the IP is obtained, the browser connects to the server and requests the webpage.
Censors can interfere at various stages: DNS redirection or sinkholing (manipulating IP addresses from the DNS server), IP blocking (preventing connection to a specific IP address), and application layer blocking (inspecting content for keywords and disrupting communication).
The human element of censorship resistance involves the privacy and anonymity of users and publishers. Coercion of users or publishers is a concern. Comprehensive censorship resistance systems aim to afford privacy, but users often need to combine these with anonymity services like TOR.
Internet censorship is described as an 'arms race' because technology for information dissemination and retrieval is constantly evolving. Social media platforms make censorship difficult due to the sheer volume of user-generated content and the collateral damage of blocking major platforms like Google or Twitter. As censors develop new methods, censorship resistance systems also evolve.