Internet Throttling

In addition to blocking Internet traffic, slowing it down, or throttling, the speed of Internet sites and services. In this activity, you will use the WeHe app to explore potential Internet throttling.

Background: WeHe

Wehe uses your device to monitor your Internet traffic from Internet applications, including YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and others. The application creates the apperance of actively using these applications, and attempts to detect and Internet service provider’s (ISP) attempt to slow down these services.

The application sends the same Internet traffic from the app, with randomized bytes and the original content. In theory, this should prevent an ISP from identifying the traffic as belonging to the specific app (although in practice, both versions of the traffic are encrypted). WeHe is based on the theory that the randomized traffic will not cause an ISP to discriminate against it, while the original traffic will.

Activity: Using WeHe

1. Download the WeHe app from the Google Play Store or Apple Store.
2. Open the app and click the “Start” button.
3. Select a few applications and services to test.
4. Repeat your tests to see if you reach the same conclusions.

Thought Questions

• What did you find?
• What are potential sources of inaccuracy for this tool?
• What makes throttling detection harder than filtering detection?
• When might an ISP throttle traffic?
• When might a country throttle traffic, vs. filtering it?