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<p>Hello Oonitarians,</p>
<p>I am sending this email to share OONI data providing evidence of
recent censorship events in Spain and China.</p>
<p><b># Spain</b></p>
<p>As of yesterday, OONI Probe users in Spain started testing the
blocking of sites associated to the upcoming Catalan Independence
Referendum. <br>
</p>
<p>The sites that were added for testing can be found here:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/222/files">https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/222/files</a></p>
<p>If you know of other sites that should be added to this testing
list, please create a pull request or send them to me via email. <br>
</p>
<p>As of today, we have started collecting network measurements
which provide <b>evidence of the DNS blocking of sites related to
the Catalan Referendum</b>.</p>
<p>Below are some examples:</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170925T094539Z_AS12479_YSOwVYR9VsHdupB4HlasCmHzkXU8MVmeSUFtIsYFOYa3xOXZ0E?input=http:%2F%2Fwww.referendum.party%2F">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170925T094539Z_AS12479_YSOwVYR9VsHdupB4HlasCmHzkXU8MVmeSUFtIsYFOYa3xOXZ0E?input=http:%2F%2Fwww.referendum.party%2F</a></p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170925T094539Z_AS12479_YSOwVYR9VsHdupB4HlasCmHzkXU8MVmeSUFtIsYFOYa3xOXZ0E?input=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.referendum.legal%2F">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170925T094539Z_AS12479_YSOwVYR9VsHdupB4HlasCmHzkXU8MVmeSUFtIsYFOYa3xOXZ0E?input=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.referendum.legal%2F</a></p>
<p>To find more examples, please filter the measurements through the
following page: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/country/ES">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/country/ES</a></p>
<p>You can filter the measurements through the following steps:</p>
<p>1. Click "Filter Results" in the Spanish OONI Explorer page:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/country/ES">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/country/ES</a></p>
<p>2. Add a domain in the "Test Input" section that already exists
in the Spanish test list:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/blob/master/lists/es.csv">https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/blob/master/lists/es.csv</a>
(if it's not included in this list, then that URL hasn't been
tested)</p>
<p>3. Click "Apply Filter".</p>
<p>This will now present you with all the measurements pertaining to
the domain that you selected. By clicking on each of those
measurements, you will be able to find evidence of the blocking at
the bottom of each "measurement page", by clicking on "object"
(thus opening up the technical details).</p>
<p><b># China</b></p>
<p>We <b>confirm that the blocking of WhatsApp in the AS9808
network in China started on 23rd September 2017.<br>
<br>
</b>Network measurements collected from that network over the last
days show:<br>
<br>
WhatsApp blocked on 25th September 2017:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170925T150818Z_AS9808_UbwbiGh5iK7Um6kIyijPaBmiP6t2bMKYrYWTsy0kBIpFG3YKAF">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170925T150818Z_AS9808_UbwbiGh5iK7Um6kIyijPaBmiP6t2bMKYrYWTsy0kBIpFG3YKAF</a><br>
<br>
WhatsApp blocked on 24th September 2017:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170924T032827Z_AS9808_VEiXHcUSheE4ukbc6JP5mb6VHs7Jj9PUZdvVfz2NqnkyUj3cNN">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170924T032827Z_AS9808_VEiXHcUSheE4ukbc6JP5mb6VHs7Jj9PUZdvVfz2NqnkyUj3cNN</a><br>
<br>
WhatsApp blocked on 23rd September 2017:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170923T190041Z_AS9808_KVgtMvuqyKsoi80oOJJrw9mtrvmRbULXvcM7wAGXu7mysT0tF3">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170923T190041Z_AS9808_KVgtMvuqyKsoi80oOJJrw9mtrvmRbULXvcM7wAGXu7mysT0tF3</a><br>
<br>
In contrast, WhatsApp was found to be accessible in that network
on 22nd September 2017 (and during all the previous dates):
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170922T161201Z_AS9808_VvccKJ2eKLqQvvRXH6oiX5HWuPAISTeyTnhX8CbFReNKNemBzL">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/measurement/20170922T161201Z_AS9808_VvccKJ2eKLqQvvRXH6oiX5HWuPAISTeyTnhX8CbFReNKNemBzL</a><br>
<br>
This strongly suggests that this ISP started blocking WhatsApp on
23rd September 2017.<br>
<br>
It's worth highlighting that, as of yesterday, we see this ISP
increasing the censorship of WhatsApp. During the previous dates
(23rd & 24th September), they were only blocking TCP
connections to WhatsApp's endpoints.<br>
<br>
But as of yesterday (25th September), they are <b>ALSO blocking
access to WhatsApp's registration service</b> -- therefore
enhancing the censorship of WhatsApp.<br>
<br>
It's also worth noting that these measurements have only been
collected from one ISP (AS9808). Therefore, it remains unclear to
us whether other ISPs in China are blocking access to WhatsApp as
well, or whether the block is being implemented on a nation-wide
level.<br>
<br>
The measurements that we collect depend on the OONI Probe users in
China, and where they choose to run tests. <br>
</p>
<p>You can filter the WhatsApp measurements collected from China
through the following steps:</p>
<p>1. Access the China OONI Explorer page:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/country/CN">https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/country/CN</a></p>
<p>2. Click "Filter Results".</p>
<p>3. Select "WhatsApp" in the drop-down menu of "Test Name". <br>
</p>
<p>4. Click "Apply Filter".</p>
<p>You will now be presented will all the OONI network measurements
showing the testing of WhatsApp in China. By clicking on each
individual measurement, you will be able to find more information
by clicking "object" (uncovering technical details).</p>
<p>We encourage you to use this data as part of policy and advocacy
efforts, as well as for recommending censorship circumvention
advice.</p>
<p>All the best,</p>
<p>Maria.<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Maria Xynou
Research and Partnerships Coordinator
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://ooni.torproject.org/">https://ooni.torproject.org/</a>
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E</pre>
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