Explore OONI Explorer to Investigate Internet Censorship
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 at the moment is that not everyone has 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 not all countries offer these guarantees, OONI Explorer with its reports, blog and programs aims to reflect the situation of the Internet by showing us censorship and other forms of interference.
Each nation in the world has its own legislation and way of doing things when it comes to Internet connectivity. In some countries we have more freedom and we find a more neutral and free network. However, in other countries of the world, the situation is quite different and their citizens have more restrictions to use the internet.
What is OONI Explorer and what offers us
OONI Explore is an open data resource that, since 2012, investigates internet censorship around the world. His work has collected millions of network measurements in over 200 countries. Its goal is to spread awareness of Internet censorship and other forms of network interference around the world. In this sense, it collects information on:
- Blocking websites and apps , like checking if WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram are blocked.
- The search sites blocked on more recently.
- Network performance in checking the operating speed of thousands of networks around the world. In addition, it enables data mining on the performance of video transmission.
OONI Explorer receives millions of network measurements collected in more than 200 countries every day. This is a recent graph on global connectivity.
However, it offers us a lot more, one of the most interesting is OONI Probe . It is a tool for Android and Windows that measures censorship on the Internet. Later we will cover this topic in more depth, but first we will know more things that they can offer us.
The fight against censorship of political events, the media and more
Internet censorship is sometimes quite tied to political events. So, for example, elections, demonstrations and riots could be an example of such detected cases. For example, these are the last cases that OONI Explorer has detected in connection with this case.
The reports are in English, this is the one of the 2019 Cuban constitutional referendum . Another problem they deal with is media censorship. In some countries, press freedom is threatened, independent media sites are blocked. Here are some examples of what they offer.
This is the report on the blocking of independent media websites in Venezuela . On the other hand, we also have the blocking of LGBTQI sites, these are just a few examples.
This is the report of Iran blockade of Grindr . OONI Explorer reveals global censorship over the Internet. So, it shows us how minority groups are stuck in the world. Some groups such as LGBTQI see their rights to sexual freedom violated. Others, like the independent media, see their freedom of speech and the press limited, to which must be added the violation of rights that occur in political events in undemocratic regimes. In the first link of the tutorial, where we go to the OONI Explorer website, we can see the most recent censorship reports.
OONI Explorer reports, blog and tests
As we commented before, on the main page of the web we have the reports that have higher notoriety. However, it should be noted that they are not the only ones. In fact, he has a report section . Here you can find more surveys and things related to censorship.
We also have the blog which contains news more related to the improvements implemented by OONI, such as the creation of its OONI Probe tool. It also contains research, surveys and interviews. On the other hand, we also have the section test . 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 .
Research and country sections
In the upper right corner of the OONI Explorer web page we find the Research and Country sections. In this case, we'll start with the section Search , if we tap on it, we will get a screen like this:
The first thing we have to do is select the country, in this case I chose Spain. Then what I did is select TOR in the test type. In this, it allows great variety such as WhatsApp, Telegram and more. As you can see, the results I got are good, although some anomalies were detected. The image above was only a fragment, the vast majority gave correct results showing an OK. This means that the TOR network, during this period, performed well, although at one point there was a small impact.
Now we will see the section Country , if we click on it, a screen like this will appear:
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 opted for the European continent and I chose the Spain . Here we have a graph with the results that were compiled for each OONI probe test category, as well as the number of networks covered by the tests.
In the following sections, it also provides information about the tests performed on websites and instant messaging applications.
OONI probe for mobile and for your PC
OONI Probe is the tool developed by OONI Explorer to measure censorship on the Internet. 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:
Here is the main menu of OONI Probe in its mobile version:
Thanks to this application, we will be able to carry out the following surveys:
- It collects evidence of internet censorship and can check if certain websites and instant messaging apps are blocked.
- Detect responsible censorship and surveillance systems.
- We can measure the speed and performance of our network using a Network Diagnostic Test (NDT). Additionally, 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 link following . Once installed, a welcome screen like this will appear:
Thanks to this tool we will be able to:
- Find out which websites are blocked.
- Perform performance tests of our network.
- Check which apps are blocked.
By running OONI Probe, we are helping to increase internet transparency and show censorship. Finally, thanks to organizations like OONI Explorer, we can learn about the current censorship situation in many countries.
