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OONI Monthly Report: May 2021
by Maria Xynou 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Hello, Hope you're all doing well. These days we're primarily supported by the DRL, which is why we do quarterly reporting. That said, we'd like to share monthly updates from the OONI team with the community, hence our May 2021 report shared below. I'll also follow-up to share our June 2021 report. *# OONI Monthly Report: May 2021* Throughout May 2021, the OONI team worked on the following sprints: * Sprint 38 - Umbrella octopus (1-9 May, 2021) * Sprint 39 - Vaquita (10-23 May, 2021) * Sprint 40 - Manatee (24-31 May, 2021) Our work can be tracked through the various OONI GitHub repositories: https://github.com/ooni Highlights are shared in this report below. *## Released OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 with automated testing, backend proxy support, and new experimental card* We released OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 which is a major release because it includes 3 exciting new features: 1) Automated regular testing: By enabling automated testing in the settings, OONI Probe Android will test websites automatically every hour! 2) New Experimental card: Users can now run our new STUN reachability test. 3) Backend proxy support: Users can enable Psiphon or use a custom proxy through the new OONI backend proxy settings. Further information is provided below. *### Automated testing* Following the beta release in April 2021 ( https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1451), we made a public release of OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 with support for automated testing: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/releases/tag/v3.0.0 Instead of having to remember to manually run OONI Probe, users can now have OONI Probe test websites automatically every hour! All they have to do is enable the "Run tests automatically" option in the new "Automated testing" setting of the OONI Probe Android app. Through these settings, users can choose whether they would prefer to have OONI Probe only run tests while they’re connected to WiFi and their phone is charging (to avoid consuming their data and battery). By enabling "automated testing", the OONI Probe Android app will test websites automatically (in the background) every hour, without requiring users to do anything. We started off with only automated website testing, but we plan to add support for automatically running other tests as well in future releases (similarly to automated testing on OONI Probe Desktop: https://ooni.org/support/ooni-probe-desktop#automated-ooni-probe-testing). To avoid over-cluttering the "Test Results" section of the app with too many test results (from automated runs), they are only made available on the OONI API (https://api.ooni.io/) and OONI Explorer ( https://explorer.ooni.org/), where they are openly published in near real-time. We strongly recommend enabling automated testing, as this will help ensure regular testing (which is crucial for detecting censorship events). *### New Experimental card* As censorship becomes more sophisticated, we need to ship new censorship detection tests faster. To this end, we added a new Experimental card in the OONI Probe Android app, where we plan to release our latest experiments. This card is meant to provide us agility in adding and removing new experiments on an ongoing basis (particularly in response to emergent censorship events). With OONI Probe Android 3.0.0, users can run our new STUN reachability test: https://github.com/ooni/spec/blob/master/nettests/ts-025-stun-reachability.… Our work on adding support for running experimental tests is documented through the following pull request and tickets: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/429, https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1388, https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1185, https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1473. *### Backend proxy support* In some places, such as Iran, communication to the OONI backend services is being interfered with. We have therefore added support for configuring a circumvention proxy for speaking to OONI backend services. OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 includes new backend proxy settings where users can: * Enable Psiphon (https://psiphon.ca/) * Use a custom proxy This will help with circumventing any accidental or deliberate OONI Probe blocking. Our work on this is documented through the following tickets: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1469, https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1470, https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1477. *## Published a blog post on making OONI Probe Android more resilient* We published a blog post where we describe what we did to make OONI Probe Android more resilient to deliberate or accidental blocking: https://ooni.org/post/making-ooni-probe-android-more-resilient/ As part of this blog post, we explain why we decided to add backend proxy support to OONI Probe, how and why we changed our Android TLS fingerprint, and we document future improvements. *## Improvements to the code quality of OONI Probe Android* In collaboration with Bloco, we improved the way in which the OONI Probe Android app is being tested by adding UI and domain tests, as documented through the following pull requests: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/431 and https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/437. We also refactored the app to make use of the dependency injection pattern: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/430 *## Added RTL support to OONI Probe Desktop* We continued to work on adding support for Right-To-Left (RTL) languages (such as Arabic and Farsi) in OONI Probe Desktop. This allows us to integrate translations (provided by the Localization Lab community) in the OONI Probe desktop app. This work is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1087 *## Prototype of browser-based OONI Probe* Community members have been requesting a browser-based version of OONI Probe that they can run. To this end, we started fleshing out a browser-based OONI Probe which allows for testing the accessibility of websites by loading the favicon of the target websites. This work is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/854 *## OONI Probe for Raspberry Pis* We added support for creating builds for armv7 and started publishing them on our Debian repository. This allows Raspberry Pi users to install OONI Probe CLI on their Raspberry pi devices. This is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/807 *## OONI Probe Command Line Interface (CLI)* We added support to OONI Probe CLI for exposing the is_uploaded status inside of the result listing. This will allow us to expose an icon at the resulting listing level indicating that a measurement has not been uploaded and eventually support re-uploading them. This is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1457 *## Developing a new OONI Probe test for the Snowflake pluggable transport* We made progress on developing a new OONI Probe test for measuring the Snowflake pluggable transport. Specifically, we researched the feasibility of developing such a test and we started fleshing it out in probe-cli, as documented through the following tickets: https://github.com/ooni/probe-engine/issues/283 and https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1565. *## Building a web platform for test list updates and URL prioritization* We made progress on building a web platform that will serve two purposes: * Enabling community contributions to the Citizen Lab test lists (without a GitHub account); * Enabling the OONI team to make adjustments to URL priorities for testing. To avoid unsolicited traffic/activity, we will be issuing OONI accounts to community members so that they can login to this web platform. Once logged in, community members will be able to review the Citizen Lab test lists, add new URLs, propose the deletion or edit of existing URLs, and propose different category codes. All of this will be done through a web platform, without requiring community members to use GitHub. Once they have submitted their contributions through this web platform, pull requests will automatically be opened on the Citizen Lab test list GitHub repository (to ensure that test list contributions continue to go through the usual community review process on GitHub). The same web platform will also be used by the OONI team to adjust the testing prioritization of URLs, based on our URL prioritization policy: https://ooni.org/post/ooni-smart-url-list-system/ In May 2021, we made progress on building the URL priority management interface, the login interface, and the URL submission interface. The URL prioritization management interface is an internal tool which allows members of the OONI team to adjust the priority of URLs or of Citizen Lab category codes for testing (https://github.com/ooni/url-prioritization). Specifically, we added support to the backend and the frontend of the platform that will enable users to login. This login workflow functions by sending a one-time login token to the registered user’s email address. Once the token is presented to the backend, a cookie is registered in the user’s browser, allowing them to login to the URL submission and prioritization backend. Our work on this is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/491 *## OONI Measurement Aggregation Toolkit* We made progress on OONI’s new Measurement Aggregation Toolkit ( https://explorer.ooni.org/experimental/mat) which allows us to display measurements in aggregate over any arbitrary axis (for example, measurements over time). In particular, we started adding support for creating multi-dimensional charts which allows us to display all measurements for all inputs over time. Since the charts are very large, we needed to measure the performance of various approaches to plotting them and came up with a solution that allows us to achieve acceptable performance. This performance boost was achieved through the use of a technique called windowing, where only the visible area of the chart is rendered in the browser at a given time. This work is documented through the following pull request: https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/579 *## OONI Explorer* We added support to OONI Explorer for displaying the reason for the anomaly (DNS, TCP/IP, HTTP-failure, HTTP-diff) in the search listing. This allows users to quickly look at the different types of anomalies that occur over time for a given search query (enabling the confirmation of censorship events and ruling out false positives). This work is tracked through the following GitHub issue: https://github.com/ooni/explorer/issues/438. We also added support for filtering the WhatsApp IM test results by anomaly (https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/589), and we added support for running end-to-end tests of legacy YAML measurements inside of the continuous integration of OONI Explorer ( https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/594). *## OONI backend* We added backend support for the scoring (i.e. marking them as anomalies or OK) of Signal experiment measurements: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/500 Due to the discontinuation of the Bintray service, we migrated all our internal Debian repositories away from the service and switched to using AWS S3 instead. This is documented through the following tickets: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1440 and https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/504. *## Academic research paper on internet censorship in Myanmar* In collaboration with CAIDA, Censored Planet, and other researchers, we worked on an academic research paper which investigates internet censorship in Myanmar following the February 2021 military coup. As part of this paper, we analyzed relevant OONI measurements from Myanmar and documented the blocking of websites across AS networks in the country since the coup. In collaboration with Censored Planet, we discovered several cases of collateral damage (as a result of IP blocks), which we document in the paper. Researchers from CAIDA also document the nightly internet outages in Myanmar following the coup, providing detailed analysis and new findings. We completed the writing of this paper by mid-May and submitted it to the FOCI academic journal ( http://conferences.sigcomm.org/sigcomm/2021/workshop-foci.html), where it has been approved for publication. *## Research report on internet censorship in Azerbaijan* In collaboration with Azerbaijan Internet Watch, we worked on writing a joint research report that examines internet censorship in Azerbaijan over the last year. The first step though was to analyze OONI measurements collected from Azerbaijan, and so we performed relevant year-long OONI data analysis (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/851 ). Based on this data analysis, we produced multiple charts (communicating key findings) and we wrote the technical findings. *## Improving OONI Run based on community feedback* Last year, we carried out an extensive OONI Run usability study (involving both a survey and interviews with community members) to collect community feedback on how to improve the OONI Run platform (https://run.ooni.io/). Based on this study, we published a detailed report which includes all of the feedback and findings from this study ( https://ooni.org/post/2020-06-09-ooni-run-usability-study-findings/). In May 2021, we had several dedicated team meetings during which we went through all of the community feedback, opened relevant GitHub tickets, and documented the next steps (and a relevant roadmap) for improving the OONI Run platform based on community feedback. This has been quite a lengthy process because we have had to evaluate several interdependencies (with other platforms we’re currently building), as well as the feasibility of implementing many of the community feature requests. This is an ongoing process. *## Community outreach related to the discontinuation of legacy-probe* Throughout May 2021, we continued relevant community outreach efforts in relation to the upcoming discontinuation of the legacy version of ooniprobe, which relies on v2 onion services (which are being discontinued by October 2021). As legacy ooniprobe still accounts for a relatively large percentage of global OONI measurements, we have been trying to reach these users to encourage them to switch over to the OONI Probe Command Line Interface (https://ooni.org/install/cli). To this end, we have been sharing relevant information (including how to switch to OONI Probe CLI) with multiple community mailing lists and on our social media channels. We have also been reaching out to our partners and other community members, in an effort to reach legacy probe users. *## Test list updates* In May 2021, we contributed the following updates to the Citizen Lab test lists: * Israel: https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/770 (we added Palestinian news media and human rights websites to check if they’re blocked in Israel) * Colombia: https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/775 (we added a site which OONI data indicated was blocked, but which was not already included in the test list) *## Collaboration with Netalitica on test list updates* Netalitica researchers continued to do excellent work in reviewing and updating more Citizen Lab test lists. In May 2021, we opened a pull request based on Netalitica updates to the Malaysian test list (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/772) and we reviewed their updates to the Indian test list, based on which we shared feedback for further possible improvements. We also provided relevant data analysis support to Netalitica ( https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/887), sharing statistical information on how many new censorship cases were discovered following their updates to the Citizen Lab test lists. *## Created resources for OPTIMA 2.0 training program* We previously (in late 2020) supported Internews’ OPTIMA Network Measurement Training program for advocates by creating relevant OONI resources and facilitating OONI training sessions. Information about this training program is available here: https://internews.org/resource/optima-network-measurement-training/ In support of Internews’ OPTIMA 2.0 program (the continuation of the training program), we created (in May 2021) a new video recording and a relevant OONI quiz for training participants. We also created a resource on network measurement tools for internet shutdown advocacy. *## Organizing the 2 online OONI Partner Training events* In preparation for the 2 online OONI Partner Training events, we continued to do relevant organizational work. In May 2021, we sent out personal invitations to more than 100 prospect participants and we prepared a draft outline of the training sessions. To ensure that participant needs are met during the training events, we created (and shared) a pre-training survey ( https://forms.gle/YU4TW62LrLKmCC7N9) to collect participant feedback. The feedback shared through this survey helped inform the creation of the final training agenda. *## Updated the OONI Partners page* On our website, we feature all of our partners and their important work through our Partners page: https://ooni.org/partners In May 2021, we updated this page to add 2 more of our partners (with whom we’ve been collaborating closely over the last few years): * IODA: https://ooni.org/partners/ioda/ * OutRight Action International: https://ooni.org/partners/outright-action-international/ *## OONI Team Meeting Day: Strategic Planning* On 5th May 2021, we had an (online) OONI Team Meeting Day focused on strategic planning. As part of this day-long meeting, our team had the following 4 sessions: * Session 1: Time for Reflection * Session 2: Communications Strategies * Session 3: What do you want OONI to be? * Session 4: Strategic fundraising As part of these sessions (particularly sessions 2 and 4), we had the opportunity to share knowledge and skills (with the whole OONI team) gained through the Ford Foundation Communications and Financial Resilience training programs we had participated in over the last months. These sessions offered our team an opportunity to take a step back and brainstorm on big-picture strategic decisions and goals moving forward. Over the years, we generally have such team meetings on an annual or bi-annual basis. In preparation for this OONI Team Meeting Day, we prepared relevant slides, resources, and hands-on exercises to ensure that the discussions are as interactive and useful as possible. As an outcome, all of our team members gained new skills and knowledge in relation to communications and fundraising strategies, and based on our brainstorming discussions and exercises, we refined our upcoming milestones. *## Ford Foundation Financial Innovation & Resilience Training* As part of our participation in the Ford Foundation’s Financial Innovation and Resilience training program, we attended a relevant workshop on 12th May 2021, and a relevant webinar on 27th May 2021. We were offered this great opportunity because we are a grantee of the Ford Foundation, who support OONI’s community-related work. The knowledge and skills gained through this training program have helped us rethink and improve OONI’s fundraising strategies. *## Community use of OONI data### 2020 Annual Report on Digital Rights in Venezuela* On 16th May 2021, our Venezuelan partners, IPYS Venezuela ( https://ooni.org/partners/ipys-venezuela/), published their 2020 Annual Report on Digital Rights in Venezuela. As part of this report, they made use of OONI data ( https://twitter.com/VEinteligente/status/1412532307248877570). Their report is available here: https://ipysvenezuela.org/2021/05/16/32196/ *### Report on the blocking of websites in Egypt* On 24th May 2021, our Egyptian partners, Masaar - Technology and Law Community (https://ooni.org/partners/masaar/), published a research report documenting the techniques and laws around the blocking of websites in Egypt. As part of this report, they made use of OONI data. Their report is available here: https://masaar.net/en/blocking-websites-in-egypt-techniques-and-laws/ *## Community activities### Stockholm Internet Forum 2021* On 12th May 2021, OONI’s Maria participated as a speaker on a panel discussion (“#KeepItOn: Governments weaponizing Internet shutdowns”) at the Stockholm Internet Forum 2021 (https://stockholminternetforum.se/). As part of her participation on the panel, Maria presented OONI’s work and discussed how OONI has supported the advocacy efforts of the #KeepItOn campaign (https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton/) in fighting internet shutdowns around the world. *### OONI workshops at TechUp event* On 15th May 2021, OONI’s Maria facilitated 2 online OONI workshops for civil society communities in India and in the Philippines during the TechUp event, organized by the IO Foundation ( https://www.theiofoundation.org/techup/). As part of these 2 workshops, Maria presented OONI’s tools, methodologies, and dataset, and provided live demos explaining how participants can use OONI Explorer (https://explorer.ooni.org/) to track censorship events worldwide in real-time. As part of outreach efforts, we created an OONI e-booth on TechUp’s Airmeet platform. This provided OONI resources and information for civil society communities in Asia. *### Localization Lab Summit 2021* On 21st and 28th May 2021, we attended the Localization Lab Summit 2021 ( https://www.localizationlab.org/localization-summit-2021-sessions), during which we had the opportunity to meet with the Localization Lab community, learn about emerging digital rights threats around the world, and unmet community needs. We also had the opportunity to connect with funders and the developers of other internet freedom tools, and to learn more about localization needs and challenges. Given that the translation and overall localization of the OONI Probe apps is supported by the Localization Lab community, this was a very important opportunity for us to learn more about community needs and challenges, which helps inform the development and improvement of our tools. *### OONI training facilitated by Cameroonian partners* In May 2021, our Cameroonian partner, COMPSUDEV ( https://ooni.org/partners/compsudev/), collaborated with AfroLeadership ( https://afroleadership.org/) on organizing and facilitating a 2-day training event (“Building Evidence for Internet Rights Advocacy”) for civil society groups in Cameroon. As part of this training event, they facilitated OONI workshops with the goal of introducing participants to OONI’s tools, methodologies, and dataset. More specifically, they walked through the OONI Probe apps (explaining how participants can use them to measure internet censorship), demoed OONI Explorer (explaining how they can find and use OONI data as part of advocacy), and collected participant feedback. We are very grateful for these community-initiated OONI workshops! *### OONI feedback collected from civil society in Tanzania* In May 2021, Tanzania’s Zaina Foundation carried out a Feedback Collection project for several open source tools, including OONI. As part of this, they asked community members in Tanzania to share their feedback on OONI Probe and OONI Explorer. Following this project, Zaina Foundation shared with us the feedback they collected from human rights defenders in Tanzania for the improvement of OONI Probe and OONI Explorer. *### OONI guide by Fundación Karisma* Starting on 26th May 2021, OONI measurements collected from Colombia started to show: * Blocking of ghostbin.co: https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2021-06-02&since=2021-05-03&domain=g… * Blocking of archive.org: https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2021-06-02&since=2021-05-03&domain=a… To encourage further testing, our Colombian partner, Fundación Karisma ( https://ooni.org/partners/karisma-foundation/), wrote and published a short OONI guide (in Spanish): https://web.karisma.org.co/micro-guia-para-el-uso-de-ooni/. They also promoted their OONI guide (and OONI Probe testing) on their social media channels: https://twitter.com/Karisma/status/1398372339918721030 *### OONI Community Meeting* On 25th May 2021, we hosted the monthly OONI Community Meeting on our Slack channel (https://slack.ooni.org/), during which we discussed the following topics: 1. Updates regarding the new web platform for suggesting updates/edits to the Citizen Lab test lists. How shall we deal with dead URLs that still remain blocked in a given country? 2. Pluggable transport implementation in any networking system, and the current state of obfs4 support in OONI Probe. *## Userbase* In May 2021, 10,261,241 OONI Probe measurements were collected from 5,132 AS networks in 191 countries around the world. This information can also be found through our measurement stats on OONI Explorer (see chart on “monthly coverage worldwide”): https://explorer.ooni.org/ ~ OONI team.

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OONI Monthly Report: April 2021
by Maria Xynou 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Hello, Hope you're all doing well. These days we're primarily supported by the DRL, which is why we do quarterly reporting. That said, we'd like to share monthly updates from the OONI team with the community, hence our April 2021 report shared below. I'll also follow-up to share our May and June 2021 reports. *# OONI Monthly Report: April 2021* Throughout April 2021, the OONI team worked on the following sprints: * Sprint 36 - Rhodophyta (1-11 April, 2021) * Sprint 37 - Vampire squid (12-25 April, 2021) * Sprint 38 - Umbrella octopus (26-30 April, 2021) Our work can be tracked through the various OONI GitHub repositories: https://github.com/ooni Highlights are shared in this report below. *## Released new OONI Probe test for Signal Private Messenger App* The OONI Probe apps now feature a brand new test for the Signal Private Messenger app! You can test the Signal app on your network and check if it's blocked. The specification of the OONI Probe Signal test is available here: https://github.com/ooni/spec/blob/master/nettests/ts-029-signal.md We also wrote a Signal test description (for a more general audience), which we published on our website: https://ooni.org/nettest/signal Through the OONI Probe Signal test, users can check if it’s possible to establish a connection to the various backend services used by the Signal app or if Signal is being interfered with on their network. Following the implementation of our Signal test ( https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/230), we created a UI for displaying the test results inside of the OONI Probe apps. We then worked on integrating the Signal test inside of the OONI Probe mobile and desktop apps in preparation for the new app releases. Our new Signal test was shipped as part of OONI Probe Desktop 3.4.0 ( https://github.com/ooni/probe-desktop/pull/202) and OONI Probe Mobile 2.11.0 (https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/422, https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1415). All Signal test results from around the world are openly published in near real-time on OONI Explorer: https://explorer.ooni.org/search?since=2021-03-15&test_name=signal *## Updated the user guides for OONI Probe Mobile and Desktop Apps* In April 2021, we published updated versions of our user guides for the OONI Probe apps: 1) User Guide: OONI Probe Mobile: https://ooni.org/support/ooni-probe-mobile 2) User Guide: OONI Probe Desktop: https://ooni.org/support/ooni-probe-desktop Following relevant OONI Probe mobile and desktop releases, we updated the guides to include new features, settings, step-by-step instructions, and screenshots (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/844). *## Beta for automated testing on OONI Probe Android* In April 2021, we released a beta version for automated testing on OONI Probe Android! This means that users can have OONI Probe test websites automatically multiple times per day (without having to remember to run OONI Probe or do anything). We reached out to community members, requesting that they help test the beta and report any issues they encounter. Users could help test the beta version by: 1) Joining the beta program: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/org.openobservatory.ooniprobe 2) Updating (through the Play Store) to OONI Probe 3.0.0-beta.1 (Android) 3) Through the OONI Probe 3.0.0-beta.1 app, tapping Settings -> Automated testing and enabling the "Run tests automatically" setting. The beta included settings for having automated tests run only when users are connected to WiFi and while their phone is charging (though they can configure this in the "Automated testing" settings). To avoid cluttering the UI of the OONI Probe Test Results screen, the test results from automated testing will only be made available on OONI Explorer (published automatically in real-time): https://explorer.ooni.org/ *## Improvements to the testing of OONI Probe Android* We onboarded an external contractor (Bloco) to assist us with the development of integration and unit tests for OONI Probe Android. This has led to improving the overall code quality of the app, as well as ensuring that it’s better tested so that we can have higher confidence in what we ship to end users. This work is documented through the following pull request: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/426 *## Research on implementing automated testing on iOS* We carried out research to explore the feasibility of adding support to the OONI Probe iOS app to perform background tasks (required for automated testing). We also created a prototype for OONI Probe iOS background tasks: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1459 *## OONI Probe backend proxy support* We worked on adding backend proxy support to the OONI Probe apps in order to make them more resilient to intentional or accidental blocking. More specifically, we added support that will enable OONI Probe users to use Psiphon or a custom proxy to communicate with OONI backend services. In April 2021, we released an alpha version with Psiphon proxy support: https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/releases/tag/v3.10.0-alpha. We also created a UI for the new OONI backend proxy settings in the OONI Probe apps. All of this work is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/985 *## Preview release of OONI Probe Desktop with RTL support* In April 2021, we made a preview release of OONI Probe Desktop with RTL support: https://github.com/ooni/probe-desktop/releases/tag/v3.5.0-rtl.1 This experimental release includes support for languages that use Right-to-Left (RTL) scripts, such as Arabic and Farsi. We shared this preview release with community members to get their feedback on how to improve it before the public release. Based on their feedback, we made a series of improvements. *## OONI Probe Command Line Interface (CLI)* We released OONI Probe CLI 3.9.0 (https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1369) which includes a series of improvements and end-to-end testing. We continued to work on redesigning the probeservices package ( https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1405) to add circumvention support, making OONI Probe more resilient to censorship. We also completed work related to implementing the check-in API in OONI Probe CLI ( https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1299). *## Changes to the OONI Probe Android TLS fingerprint* We noticed that OONI Probe Android was not working properly on some networks in Iran. We therefore investigated the issue and discovered that the block had to do with the fact that a specific ordering of the TLS cipher suites was leading to fingerprinting and blocking on this network. As a result of this, we patched the golang TLS code to maintain the same cipher suite ordering as it does on desktop, which resulted in us managing to unblock the app in Iran. More details about this issue are available through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1444 (and our relevant blog post: https://ooni.org/post/making-ooni-probe-android-more-resilient/#changing-ou… ). *## Research on implementing a new Snowflake experiment in OONI Probe* We carried out research (and testing) necessary for evaluating the feasibility of implementing a new Snowflake experiment in the OONI Probe apps and concluded that it is feasible. Our work on this research prototype is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe-engine/issues/283 *## Data quality improvements* We improved upon the quality of OONI Probe RiseupVPN measurements by fixing a bug to reduce the ratio of false positives. This work is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1354 Based on the RiseupVPN test, RiseupVPN was flagged as “likely blocked” even if a single gateway was blocked, without taking into account the built-in fallback mechanisms. Moreover, the gateways were indicated as “likely blocked” if they were malfunctioning for other reasons (such as misconfiguration, DDoS, reboot on security updates etc.). As a result, this produced a lot of false positives. To address this, we made a series of improvements in order to improve the accuracy of the RiseupVPN test and to reduce the ratio of false positives. *## Improvements to OONI Explorer* We added support for grouping test names by the relative test group under the “Test Name” filter of the OONI Explorer Search page: https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/573 We fixed an issue related to how we were displaying the timestamps in the summary text of the OONI Explorer measurement pages: https://github.com/ooni/explorer/issues/541 Thanks to a community contribution, we now have support in the measurement pages for expanding all the measurement data JSON keys: https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/567 *## Creating a real-time incident response dashboard* We made considerable progress on the Measurement Aggregation Toolkit, which allows users to plot aggregate charts of measurements in response to ongoing censorship events. In particular, we added support for plotting charts on multiple axes, allowing us to display anomaly counts of measurements over time per URL. This work is documented through the following pull request: https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/579 *## Proof of concept for new URL submission web platform* To enable community members to contribute to the Citizen Lab test lists (which include URLs measured by OONI Probe), we are creating a web platform that will enable users to review and contribute to the test lists without using GitHub (contributions from this new web platform will still end up as pull requests on the Citizen Lab test list repository for review). In April 2021, we created a proof of concept backend implementing the full URL submission functionality. We Integrated the URL submission/editing backend into the OONI API: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/490. This allows users to contribute URLs to the Citizen Lab test lists without needing to create a GitHub account or knowing how to format a pull request. This work is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/487 *## OONI backend* Throughout April 2021, we worked on the following backend activities: * Added support to the OONI API for the new OONI Probe Signal test * Investigated a check-in test list bug (which wasn’t returning entries), added metrics, fixed the bug, and added fallback options: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1328 * Monitored the growth of incoming OONI measurements from unattended runs (to ensure that our infrastructure can handle the increased load and to check if measurement coverage increases as expected) * We started evaluating DuckDB as an alternative database solution by building a test DB and performing a quick benchmark * Server infrastructure improvements related to VPS that we use for running OONI Probe CLI experiments * Worked on switching ooniprobe and backend Debian packages to S3: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1359 * Made progress on the OONI API registration and login, deployed it on our testing infrastructure and performed testing with probes: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/491 * Integrated the URL submission/editing backend into the OONI API: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/490 * Discussed backend/db requirements for storing new dimensions around OONI Web Connectivity measurements (server IP address, multiple DNS resolvers, blocking taxonomy): https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/492 *## Dealt with the discontinuation of Bintray* We used to rely on Bintray for hosting the Debian package repositories for probe-cli, as well as several internal tooling used in our infrastructure. Bintray has announced that they are going to discontinue the service ( https://jfrog.com/blog/into-the-sunset-bintray-jcenter-gocenter-and-chartce…) and as a result of this, we have had to migrate our infrastructure away from Bintray and replace it with an s3 based solution. This work is documented through the following ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/1437 We also moved the debian package generation over to github actions so that it’s following the same pattern used in the rest of our repositories. Moreover we added support for signing of packages and added support for the detection of duplicate packages. *## Updated OONI Data Policy* On 13th April 2021, we published an updated version of the OONI Data Policy: https://ooni.org/about/data-policy This updated documentation reflects the changes we made in terms of our use of analytics in the OONI Probe apps ( https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/838). Following a careful audit of various analytics tools (as reported in March 2021), we removed Firebase analytics and app usage metrics entirely from the OONI Probe mobile app, while ensuring that no analytics are used on OONI Probe F-Droid. Rather, we limited the OONI Probe mobile app to the use of Sentry for crash reports (when users opt-in) and to the use of Countly for sending push notifications on Android. On OONI Probe desktop, we removed Matomo app usage metrics, and limited the app to the use of Sentry for crash reports (when users opt-in). We made these changes as part of our data minimization efforts. *## Academic paper investigating internet censorship in Myanmar* We collaborated with CAIDA, Censored Planet, and other researchers on an academic research paper investigating the censorship events in Myanmar following the military coup (on 1st February 2021). This paper builds upon our previous study on censorship events in Myanmar ( https://ooni.org/post/2021-myanmar-internet-blocks-and-outages/), offering additional data analysis and new insights. In April 2021, we worked on (and completed) OONI data analysis required for this academic paper (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/855). Specifically, we analyzed OONI measurements collected from Myanmar with the aim of examining whether and how censorship events changed in the country between January 2021 to April 2021, how censorship varied across AS networks, and we investigated potential cases of collateral damage (as a result of IP blocks). Based on our analysis, we produced multiple charts (communicating key findings) and started working on writing the paper. *## Data analysis for IPYS Venezuela* We provided data analysis support to our Venezuelan partner, IPYS Venezuela (in support of their annual digital rights report). This involved a year-long analysis of OONI measurements collected from Venezuela, primarily aimed at identifying the blocking of websites (and how that varies across AS networks). As a result of this analysis, we produced a relevant chart and CSV file (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/issues/823), which we shared with IPYS Venezuela in support of their research. *## Data analysis for Azerbaijan Internet Watch* In support of our partner, Azerbaijan Internet Watch, we analyzed OONI measurements collected from Azerbaijan between 1st January 2021 to 30th April 2021. As part of this analysis, we documented the (ongoing) blocking of independent news media and circumvention tool websites (based on OONI data). Based on our analysis, we produced relevant charts (that summarize key findings) and a report: https://www.az-netwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-04-Azerbaijan-I… Azerbaijan Internet Watch also published a summary of our report findings on their site: https://www.az-netwatch.org/news/azerbaijan-keeps-blocking-access-to-key-in… *## Data analysis for the Tor Project* We collaborate with the Tor Project’s anti-censorship team on monitoring Tor blocking around the world. As part of these efforts, we analyzed OONI measurements collected from Belarus over the last year to examine torproject.org reachability. Based on this analysis, we produced and shared relevant CSV files and charts with the Tor Project’s anti-censorship team. *## Test list updates* In April 2021, we updated the Citizen Lab test list for Togo ( https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/766) by adding media websites shared by Reporters Without Borders. *## Planning the OONI Partner Training 2021* In April 2021, we started planning the logistics surrounding the organization of an OONI Partner Training. We were initially hoping to host an in-person event for all our partners, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (and associated travel restrictions), we decided to facilitate the event entirely online. Given that our partners are located around the world (from Latin America to Asia), we needed to consider training formats that would accommodate different time zones and different community needs. As such, we started organizational work related to hosting online OONI Partner Trainings in April 2021 (the events were scheduled for late June 2021 and early July 2021), and created a Concept Note. *## Ford Foundation Financial Innovation & Resilience Training* As part of our participation in the Ford Foundation’s Financial Innovation and Resilience training program, we attended a relevant workshop on 14th April 2021, and a relevant webinar on 22nd April 2021. We were offered this great opportunity because we are a grantee of the Ford Foundation, who support OONI’s community-related work. The knowledge and skills gained through this training program have helped us rethink and improve OONI’s fundraising strategies. *## Community activities### 87th Nexa Lunch Seminar* On 28th April 2021, OONI’s Simone was a speaker at the Nexa Center for Internet and Society’s (online) 87th Lunch Seminar (titled “The risks of digital sovereignty”). Information about the event is available here: https://nexa.polito.it/lunch-87 *### Research on Twitter throttling in Russia* Censored Planet produced a great research report examining the throttling of Twitter in Russia: https://censoredplanet.org/throttling. OONI’s Simone collaborated with the Censored Planet team and contributed to this research. *### OONI Community Meeting* On 27th April 2021, we hosted the monthly OONI Community Meeting on our Slack channel (https://slack.ooni.org/), during which we discussed the following topics: 1. Updates from the OONI team: (1) New Signal test, (2) Automated testing on OONI Probe Android 3.0.0-beta.1, (3) Switching from legacy ooniprobe to OONI Probe CLI. 2. Updates on internet censorship in Uganda (social media and VPN blocking) and Tanzania (Twitter blocking). 3. Updates on OONI’s new URL submission web platform. 4. The research benefit of potentially including dead/expired URLs in test lists. *## Userbase* In April 2021, 8,539,001 OONI Probe measurements were collected from 5,141 AS networks in 200 countries around the world. This information can also be found through our measurement stats on OONI Explorer (see chart on “monthly coverage worldwide”): https://explorer.ooni.org/ ~ OONI team.

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OONI Partner Training 2021
by Maria Xynou 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

Hello, Over the last week, we had the pleasure to host *two 3-day OONI Partner Training events*. Learn all about these OONI training events here: https://ooni.org/post/ooni-partner-training-2021/ We were joined by incredible internet freedom defenders from across the globe. Warm thanks to all participants for your time, questions, and feedback! We greatly appreciate it. Warmly, OONI team.

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[New Report] Azerbaijan: Media censorship through the lens of network measurement
by Maria Xynou 02 Jul '21

02 Jul '21

Hello, Today, in collaboration with Azerbaijan Internet Watch, we co-published a new research report titled: "*Media censorship in Azerbaijan through the lens of network measurement*". Our report is available through the following sites: * OONI: https://ooni.org/post/2021-azerbaijan/ * Azerbaijan Internet Watch: https://www.az-netwatch.org/news/media-censorship-in-azerbaijan-through-the… *# Key Findings* As part of our analysis of OONI measurements collected from Azerbaijan between January 2020 to May 2021, we found: ** Blocking of independent news media and circumvention tool websites.* Throughout the testing period, several independent news media and circumvention tool sites presented HTTP failures caused by connection timeouts. This suggests the potential use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) by ISPs in Azerbaijan. ** Attempts to block Tor and Psiphon. *ISPs in Azerbaijan attempted to block Tor and Psiphon amid the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. However, both attempts appear to have been quite ineffective, as these tools have built-in circumvention fallback options. Tor Metrics also show a spike in usage during this period. ** Temporary blocking of social media amid 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.* Between September 2020 to November 2020, several social media websites presented the same HTTP failures (as news media and circumvention tool sites), while the testing of WhatsApp and Telegram presented signs of TLS level interference. ** Variance of censorship across networks.* ISPs in Azerbaijan appear to be adopting similar censorship techniques. However, censorship varies from network to network, as different ISPs block different websites and apps at different moments in time. This study was carried out through the use of open methodologies, free and open source software, and open data, enabling independent third-party verification of our research findings. We encourage researchers to expand upon this study by running OONI Probe ( https://ooni.org/install/) and analyzing OONI measurements from Azerbaijan ( https://explorer.ooni.org/search?since=2021-06-03&probe_cc=AZ). We thank all OONI Probe users in Azerbaijan for contributing measurements, making this study possible. <3 Please help spread the word: https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1410923462512857100 & https://twitter.com/arzugeybulla/status/1410919889599094784 Thank you, OONI team.

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OONI Community Meeting: Tuesday, 22nd June 2021
by Maria Xynou 21 Jun '21

21 Jun '21

Hello, The OONI team warmly welcomes you to join us next Tuesday for our monthly community meeting. *=> Where? *OONI Slack channel: https://slack.ooni.org/ (bridged with IRC: ircs://irc.oftc.net:6697/#ooni) *=> When?* Tuesday, *22nd June 2021 at 14:00 UTC* (for 1 hour) Please add topics that you'd like to discuss during the meeting in this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting-keep The monthly OONI community meetings aim to: * Collect community feedback on OONI tools & methodologies * Address questions in relation to the use of OONI tools and OONI data * Foster discussions on internet censorship issues * Receive updates from the community We hope you can join us! All the best, ~ OONI team

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OONI Probe Desktop 3.5.0 includes RTL support!
by Maria Xynou 04 Jun '21

04 Jun '21

Hello friends, We released *OONI Probe Desktop 3.5.0* with *RTL support*! Update here: https://ooni.org/install/desktop OONI Probe Desktop can now support a number of languages that use right-to-left scripts, including *Arabic* and *Farsi*! Warm thanks to the Localization Lab community for the translations! <3 If you'd live to review the translations (and help translate the missing strings), you can do so on transifex: https://www.transifex.com/otf/ooniprobe/ Cheers, Maria.

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Exciting new OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 release
by Maria Xynou 28 May '21

28 May '21

Hello friends, The OONI team is excited to share that we have released *OONI Probe Android 3.0.0*! Update now: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.openobservatory.ooniprobe This exciting release includes several important new features: 1. *Automated regular testing* -> By enabling automated testing in the settings, OONI Probe Android will test websites automatically every hour! 2. *New Experimental card* -> You can now run our *new STUN reachability test*. 3. *Backend proxy support* -> You can enable Psiphon or use a custom proxy through the new OONI backend proxy settings. Further information is provided below. *# Automated testing* Instead of having to remember to manually run OONI Probe, you can now have OONI Probe test websites automatically every hour! All you have to do is *enable the "Run tests automatically" option* in the new "Automated testing" setting of the OONI Probe Android app. Through these settings, you can choose whether you'd prefer to have OONI Probe only run tests while you're connected to WiFi and your phone is charging (to avoid consuming your data and battery). By enabling "automated testing", the OONI Probe Android app will test websites ( https://ooni.org/support/faq/#which-websites-will-i-test-for-censorship-wit…) automatically (in the background) every hour, without requiring you to do anything. :) We started off with only automated website testing, but we plan to add support for automatically running other tests as well in future releases (similarly to automated testing on OONI Probe Desktop: https://ooni.org/support/ooni-probe-desktop#automated-ooni-probe-testing). To avoid over-cluttering the "Test Results" section of your app with too many test results (from automated runs), they are only made available on the OONI API (https://api.ooni.io/) and OONI Explorer ( https://explorer.ooni.org/), where they are openly published in near real-time. We *strongly recommend enabling automated testing*, as this will help ensure regular testing (which is crucial for detecting censorship events). In doing so, you will contribute open data and help the internet freedom community monitor and respond to censorship events around the world. *# New Experimental card* As censorship becomes more sophisticated, we need to ship new censorship detection tests faster. To this end, we added a *new Experimental card* in the OONI Probe Android app, where we plan to release our latest experiments. This card is meant to provide us agility in adding and removing new experiments on an ongoing basis (particularly in response to emergent censorship events). With OONI Probe Android 3.0.0, you can run our *new STUN reachability test* : https://github.com/ooni/spec/blob/master/nettests/ts-025-stun-reachability.… Many more new tests are upcoming! *# Backend proxy support* Are you unable to use OONI Probe (for example, in Iran)? OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 includes *new backend proxy settings* where you can: * Enable Psiphon * Use a custom proxy This will help with circumventing any accidental or deliberate OONI Probe blocking. We published a blog post where we describe what we did to make OONI Probe Android more resilient: https://ooni.org/post/making-ooni-probe-android-more-resilient/ *# Overall* We consider OONI Probe Android 3.0.0 an important release because: * You can contribute regular measurements automatically, helping the internet freedom community research and fight internet censorship worldwide; * You can run more advanced tests through the new Experimental card, which is an important milestone for future rapid response efforts; * Community members in countries like Iran can continue to use OONI Probe Android and contribute measurements (with the new backend proxy settings). Please help spread the word: https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1397901993600065540 Thank you, OONI team.

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OONI Community Meeting: Tuesday, 25th May 2021
by Maria Xynou 24 May '21

24 May '21

Hello, The OONI team warmly welcomes you to join us next Tuesday for our monthly community meeting. *=> Where? *OONI Slack channel: https://slack.ooni.org/ (bridged with IRC: ircs://irc.oftc.net:6697/#ooni) *=> When?* Tuesday, *25th May 2021 at 14:00 UTC* (for 1 hour) Please add topics that you'd like to discuss during the meeting in this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting-keep The monthly OONI community meetings aim to: * Collect community feedback on OONI tools & methodologies * Address questions in relation to the use of OONI tools and OONI data * Foster discussions on internet censorship issues * Receive updates from the community We hope you can join us! All the best, ~ OONI team

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OONI Community Meeting: Tuesday, 27th April 2021
by Maria Xynou 26 Apr '21

26 Apr '21

Hello, The OONI team warmly welcomes you to join us next Tuesday for our monthly community meeting. => Where? OONI Slack channel: https://slack.ooni.org/ (bridged with IRC: ircs://irc.oftc.net:6697/#ooni) => When? Tuesday, *27th April 2021 at 14:00 UTC* (for 1 hour) Please add topics that you'd like to discuss during the meeting in this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting-keep The monthly OONI community meetings aim to: * Collect community feedback on OONI tools & methodologies * Address questions in relation to the use of OONI tools and OONI data * Foster discussions on internet censorship issues * Receive updates from the community We hope you can join us! All the best, ~ OONI team

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Help test beta for automated testing on OONI Probe Android
by Maria Xynou 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

Hi friends, We are excited to share that we have a *beta version for automated testing on OONI Probe Android*! This means that you can have *OONI Probe run all tests automatically multiple times per day* (without having to remember to run OONI Probe or do anything). If you're on Android, please help test the beta version: 1. Join the beta program: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/org.openobservatory.ooniprobe 2. Update (through the Play Store) to *OONI Probe 3.0.0-beta.1* (Android) 3. Through the OONI Probe 3.0.0-beta.1 app, please tap *Settings* -> *Automated testing* and *enable* the "*Run tests automatically*" setting. We recommend having automated tests run when you're connected to WiFi and while your phone is charging (though you can configure this in the "Automated testing" settings). Now OONI Probe will run all tests automatically every hour (if you're connected to WiFi and your phone is charging -- depending on your settings). To avoid cluttering the UI of your Test Results screen, the test results from automated testing will only be available on OONI Explorer (published automatically in real-time): https://explorer.ooni.org/ We would greatly appreciate any feedback you may have for improvements! This will help us check if everything works well before we release automated OONI Probe testing officially. You can *share your feedback with my colleague Lorenzo* ( lorenzo(a)openobservatory.org), or by opening tickets at the following repository: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues Happy to address any questions you may have. Thanks for your time and support! Best, Maria.

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