Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering (Information Revolution and Global Politics) [Paperback]

Ronald Deibert (Editor), John Palfrey (Editor), Rafal Rohozinski (Editor), Jonathan Zittrain (Editor), Janice Gross Stein (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0262541963 | ISBN-13: 978-0262541961

Many countries around the world block or filter Internet content, denying access to information that they deem too sensitive for ordinary citizens--most often about politics, but sometimes relating to sexuality, culture, or religion. Access Denied documents and analyzes Internet filtering practices in more than three dozen countries, offering the first rigorously conducted study of an accelerating trend. Internet filtering takes place in more than three dozen states worldwide, including many countries in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Related Internet content-control mechanisms are also in place in Canada, the United States and a cluster of countries in Europe. Drawing on a just-completed survey of global Internet filtering undertaken by the OpenNet Initiative (a collaboration of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, and the University of Cambridge) and relying on work by regional experts and an extensive network of researchers, Access Denied examines the political, legal, social, and cultural contexts of Internet filtering in these states from a variety of perspectives. Chapters discuss the mechanisms and politics of Internet filtering, the strengths and limitations of the technology that powers it, the relevance of international law, ethical considerations for corporations that supply states with the tools for blocking and filtering, and the implications of Internet filtering for activist communities that increasingly rely on Internet technologies for communicating their missions. Reports on Internet content regulation in forty different countries follow, with each two-page country profile outlining the types of content blocked by category and documenting key findings. ContributorsRoss Anderson, Malcolm Birdling, Ronald Deibert, Robert Faris, Vesselina Haralampieva [as per Rob Faris], Steven Murdoch, Helmi Noman, John Palfrey, Rafal Rohozinski, Mary Rundle, Nart Villeneuve, Stephanie Wang, Jonathan Zittrain

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No one had a clear sense of the nature of Internet censorship until now. This extraordinary work maps the unfreedom of the Net. Unfortunately, that state is becoming the norm."
—Lawrence Lessig

"In Access Denied an unlikely avant-garde of scholars, lawyers, hacktivists, and computer programmers come together to combat efforts by repressive regimes, corporate firms, and intelligence agencies to surveil, filter, and block the Internet. Through critical analysis, regional surveys, and the use of innovative software, the authors reveal the penumbra of a networked global civil society emerging from the Dark Side's efforts to eclipse the Internet. Everyone who supports open thought and the free flow of information should read Access Denied."
—James Der Derian, Director, Global Security Program, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

"The Web provides everybody with access to information. That makes those in power nervous. Transparency is the best defense against further narrowing of information access and the starting point for rolling back existing barriers. Access Denied provides the definitive analysis of government justifications for denying their own people access to some information and also documents global Internet filtering practices on a country-by-country basis. This is timely and important."
—Jonathan Aronson, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In Access Denied an unlikely avant-garde of scholars, lawyers, hacktivists, and computer programmers come together to combat efforts by repressive regimes, corporate firms, and intelligence agencies to surveil, filter, and block the Internet. Through critical analysis, regional surveys, and the use of innovative software, the authors reveal the penumbra of a networked global civil society emerging from the Dark Side's efforts to eclipse the Internet. Everyone who supports open thought and the free flow of information should read Access Denied."--James Der Derian, Director, Global Security Program, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

"No one had a clear sense of the nature of Internet censorship until now. This extraordinary work maps the unfreedom of the net. Unfortunately, that state is becoming the norm."-- Lawrence Lessig

(Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University )

"No one had a clear sense of the nature of Internet censorship until now. This extraordinary work maps the unfreedom of the Net. Unfortunately, that state is becoming the norm."Lawrence Lessig

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (January 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262541963
• ISBN-13: 978-0262541961
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)