censorship-course

Internet Censorship Course / Book Workshop

View the Project on GitHub noise-lab/censorship-course

Internet Censorship and Online Speech

Course Description

Information dissemination and online discourse on the Internet are subject to the algorithms and filters that operate on Internet infrastructure, from network firewalls to search engines. This course will explore the technologies that are used to control access to online speech and information, and cutting-edge technologies that can empower citizens in the face of these information controls. Students will learn about and experiment with technologies to control online discourse, ranging from firewalls that perform network traffic filtering to algorithms for content personalization and content moderation. We will also explore underlying technical trends, such as the increasing consolidation of Internet infrastructure and protocols, and the implications of consolidation for control over online discourse. Each course meeting will include a technical overview, reading discussion, and a hands-on laboratory activity.

Syllabus

More details are in the course syllabus.

Schedule

Class Topic Reading Activity
From Censorship to Information Control      
1 Information Control: What, Why, and How 1 Stack
Technical Controls      
2 DNS Manipulation 2.2.1 DNS
3 Transport Layer Manipulation 2.2.2 DNSSEC
4 BGP and Web Manipulation 2.2.3-2.2.4 BGP
5 Throttling and Rate Limiting 2.3.1 Throttling
6 Denial of Service 2.3.2 Galileo
Platform Controls      
7 Flooding and Propaganda 3.1-3.2.1 Sentiment Analysis
8 Disinformation 3.2.2 Disinformation
9 Content Moderation 3.3 Moderation Policies
10 Personalization 3.4 Bubbles
Regulatory and Financial Controls      
11 Copyright, Section 230, CFAA 4.1-4.2 Copyright
12 Net Neutrality and Open Internet 4.3 Prioritization
13 Financial Barriers to Speech 4.4 Zero Rating
Measuring Information Controls      
14 Measuring Protocol Censorship 5.1-5.3 Measurement
15 Transparency Reports 5.4 Transparency
Circumventing Information Controls      
16 Virtual Private Networks 6.1 VPN
17 Tor 6.2 Tor
Looking Ahead      
18 AI and Online Speech    

Resources