Hello,
Thanks to great feedback provided by the community, the OONI team has
been working on revamping and improving upon the OONI Probe mobile apps.
Today, we are excited to announce that we have released the public beta!
To further improve upon the apps before the stable release, we invite
you to become beta testers and to report any bugs/issues.
# Becoming a beta tester
On Android:
* Sign up to the beta:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/org.openobservatory.ooniprobe
* Update your OONI Probe mobile app (to get the public beta) from Google
Play
On iOS:
* Tap on this link from your device and follow the instructions:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/rh3Ig7fE
# Reporting issues
Once you have installed and played around with the public beta of the
OONI Probe mobile apps, we encourage you to report any issues you encounter.
You can file tickets on the following GitHub repositories:
* OONI Probe (all platforms): https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues
* OONI Probe for Android: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/issues
* OONI Probe for iOS: https://github.com/ooni/probe-ios/issues
Please check if the problem you are encountering has already been reported.
If you’re not a GitHub user, you can share your feedback with us by
writing an email to contact(a)openobservatory.org.
Your feedback and bug reporting is hugely appreciated, as it will help
us launch better apps!
Thanks a million, and happy testing!
~ The OONI team.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
Today, in collaboration with our Ugandan partners, DefendDefenders, OONI
co-published a new research report: "Uganda's Social Media Tax through
the lens of network measurements".
Our research report is available via:
* OONI site: https://ooni.io/post/uganda-social-media-tax/
* DefendDefenders site:
https://www.defenddefenders.org/publication/Uganda%27sSocialMediaTax/
As of 1st July 2018, Uganda has introduced a new OTT (Over The Top) tax
- commonly referred to as the Social Media Tax - which requires people
in Uganda to pay taxes to the government in order to access several
online social media platforms. Unless this tax is paid, access to these
specific social media platforms is blocked.
Civil society groups in Uganda have expressed concern that this new
Social Media Tax will affect marginalized communities the most.
Thanks to OONI Probe users in Uganda, internet censorship has been
measured in the country since 2014 (previously enabling the detection
and examination of social media censorship during the 2016 elections).
In light of the new OTT tax, we joined forces with DefendDefenders to
test the taxed social media platforms and to run a series of
experiments, testing VPN blocking as well.
Our key findings include:
* Ugandan ISPs primarily implement internet censorship by means of HTTP
blocking, resetting connections to taxed and banned sites.
* MTN appears to block Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and
Snapchat by means of TCP/IP blocking. The TCP/IP blocking of Snapchat
may have caused collateral damage, possibly affecting thousands of sites
hosted on the same CDN. However, even if this is the case, it doesn't
affect most MTN users since MTN's proxy circumvents IP-level blocking.
* Social media censorship varies across ASNs. Africell, for example,
attempts to block Telegram, while MTN doesn't. Different social media
sites were blocked by different ISPs. Some Ugandan ISPs don't block
access to social media sites at all (such as Smile Communications and
state-owned Uganda Telecom).
* The blocking of circumvention tool sites also varies across ASNs. MTN
blocks access to VPN servers using the OpenVPN protocol and to
torproject.org, but not to the Tor network.
The above findings are based on the collection and analysis of OONI
network measurements from multiple local vantage points in Uganda:
https://api.ooni.io/files/by_country/UG
To reproduce and expand upon our study, you can:
1. Run OONI Probe: https://ooni.io/install/
2. Use OONI Run to test the sites of your choice: https://run.ooni.io/
3. Download OONI data for your own analysis: https://api.ooni.io/
Warm thanks to all the volunteers in Uganda who have run OONI Probe,
making this research possible!
Best,
Maria.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
I'm sending this email as a reminder for OONI's October community meeting.
Where: https://slack.openobservatory.org (OONI Slack channel) or #ooni
on IRC
When: Tomorrow, 24th October 2018 at 12:00 UTC (for 1 hour)
Please add topics that you would like to discuss as part of the meeting
here: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting
Looking forward to connecting with you soon!
Cheers,
Maria.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hi friends,
Thanks for marking your availability on doodle for this month's OONI
community meeting. Based on the most popular options, below is the
logistical info for the meeting:
When: Wednesday, 24th October 2018 at 12:00 UTC (for 1 hour, until 13:00
UTC)
Where: https://slack.openobservatory.org/ (OONI Slack channel)
Do you have questions related to OONI Probe/OONI data/OONI
methodologies? Do you have censorship research you would like to share
with the community? Do you have ideas/thoughts/feedfack you'd like to share?
Please join us! We'd love to meet you and hear from you.
Please add topics that you'd like to discuss as part of the meeting in
this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting
If you're not able to join us, please feel encouraged to join us on
Slack or IRC any other day!
Looking forward to connecting with you soon.
All the best,
~ The OONI team.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello friends,
During the last OONI community meeting, participants expressed interest
in a doodle that would allow everyone to come up with a time and date
that's more convenient.
We usually host the community meetings on the last Tuesday of the month,
but as the OONI team will be at the OTF Summit during the last week of
October and we'll be traveling to Taipei on 25th, our options this month
are quite limited to the following dates:
* Monday, 22nd October 2018
* Tuesday, 23rd October 2018
* Wednesday, 24th October 2018
Please take a few minutes to add your preference (in terms of time and
date) in this doodle by Friday, 19th October:
https://doodle.com/poll/xtg7szwwfysmwda7
I'll then follow up with a time and date for the meeting based on what
works best for most.
In the meanwhile, we encourage you to add topics that you'd like to
discuss as part of the meeting here:
https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting
Thanks and all the best,
Maria.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
I'm sending this email as a reminder for OONI's September community meeting tomorrow.
Where: https://slack.openobservatory.org (OONI Slack channel) or #ooni
on IRC
When: Tomorrow, 25th September 2018 at 14:00 UTC (for 1 hour)
Please add topics that you would like to discuss as part of the meeting
here: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting
Looking forward to connecting with you soon!
Cheers,
Maria.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
The OONI team warmly welcomes you to join us next week for our monthly
community meeting.
Where: https://slack.openobservatory.org/ (OONI Slack channel)
When: Tuesday, 25th September 2018 at 14:00 UTC (for 1 hour, until 15:00 UTC)
Do you have questions related to OONI Probe/OONI data/OONI methodologies?
Do you have censorship research you would like to share with the community?
Do you have ideas/thoughts/feedback you'd like to share?
Are you just curious to learn more about censorship research and meet the community?
Please join us! We'd love to meet you and hear from you. :)
We compile the agenda of the meeting here: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting
Please add topics that you'd like to discuss during the meeting in the pad.
If you're not able to join us, please feel encouraged to join us on
Slack or IRC any other day!
Looking forward to connecting with you soon!
All the best,
~ The OONI team.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
Today Venezuela Inteligente, IPYS Venezuela and OONI jointly published a
research report examining internet censorship in Venezuela.
Our research report is available here:
https://ooni.torproject.org/post/venezuela-internet-censorship/
Our study is based on the analysis of hundreds of thousands of OONI
Probe network measurements collected from multiple local vantage points
over the last 4 years.
Key findings include:
1. **Media censorship:** A number of independent media websites are
blocked (primarily by means of DNS tampering) by (at least) 4 Venezuelan
ISPs. These include El Pitazo and El Nacional, two of Venezuela's major,
independent news outlets known for reporting extensively on corruption
(and other political issues). All 3 of El Pitazo's domains
(elpitazo.info, elpitazo.com, elpitazo.ml) were found to be blocked
across ISPs (possibly in an attempt to reinforce the censorship).
Over the last days, state-owned CANTV appears to have started blocking
investigative journalism site armando.info as well (by means of HTTP
blocking). This though requires further testing, since some measurements
aren't consistent.
2. Blogs expressing political criticism, Zello (heavily used by
protesters), and a number of currency exchange websites were found to be
blocked. This suggests that internet censorship in Venezuela may be a
symptom of its economic and political crisis.
3. **Tor blocking:** We were able to confirm the blocking of the Tor
network and obfs4 by state-owned CANTV through OONI measurements and
through a number of additional tests and experiments. Our report shares
relevant data (in tsv files). The blocking started about two months ago,
and appears to be ongoing.
Overall, internet censorship in Venezuela doesn't appear to be
centralized, since different ISPs were found to adopt different
censorship techniques and censor different platforms. Moreover, ISPs
don't always appear to roll out the same censorship in all regions (for
example, CANTV appears to block armando.info in Caracas, but not in
other states).
The recent blocking of Tor and (more) independent media sites signifies
that internet censorship in Venezuela is potentially becoming more
pervasive. Further research and testing is therefore required.
You can expand upon our study through the use of OONI Probe
(https://ooni.torproject.org/install/) and OONI data
(https://ooni.torproject.org/data/).
Thanks for reading!
Best,
Maria.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
Today, OONI and South Sudan's The Advocates for Human Rights and
Democracy (TAHURID) published a joint report examining internet
censorship in South Sudan.
Our research report is available here:
https://ooni.torproject.org/post/south-sudan-censorship/
Established in July 2011, South Sudan is the world's youngest nation.
The country though is in turmoil in light of ongoing civil war.
OONI and TAHURID joined forces to measure internet censorship locally,
particularly following local reports on the blocking of media outlets.
OONI data corroborates these reports, showing the blocking of media
outlets Sudan Tribune and Radio Tamazuj, and of Nyamilepedia and
Paanluel Wel, the leading blogs of the Nuer and Dinka tribes.
MTN (AS37594) appears to block TCP/IP connections to these sites, while
IPTEC (AS36892) blocks access by means of DNS tampering.
We also detected the presence of the Mikrotik HTTP transparent proxy
through measurements collected in 2017 from South Sudan's 4G Telecom
(AS327786) network. This proxy though is more likely being used to
improve connectivity and network performance, than to implement internet
censorship.
Based on our testing, internet censorship in South Sudan does not appear
to be pervasive, but limited to sites that authorities deem to publish
"subversive content" and incite violence. Locals report that the media
operate in a state of fear, and most forms of censorship are currently
non-digital (involving the intimidation, jailing, and killing of
journalists). Self-censorship may therefore be one of the most effective
forms of censorship in South Sudan today.
That said, the fact that South Sudan has already started implementing
internet censorship raises questions as to whether its internet
censorship apparatus will expand as internet penetration levels increase
and political events unfold.
Our study shares some initial observations based on OONI network
measurements. If you're interested in expanding upon this research, you
can do so through the use of OONI Probe
(https://ooni.torproject.org/install/) and OONI data
(https://ooni.torproject.org/data/).
Please share this study with your contacts:
https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1024643397766860801
Thanks for reading!
Best,
Maria.
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E
Hello,
Last Sunday, social media was reportedly inaccessible in Mali amid
presidential elections.
Today, OONI published a short report providing network measurement data
that corroborates local reports on the blocking of social media during
the elections.
Our report is available here:
https://ooni.torproject.org/post/mali-disruptions-amid-2018-election/
Daily OONI network measurements have been collected from Mali for more
than a year, thanks to our local partners. This has allowed us to detect
changes in censorship policies, particularly on the day of Mali's latest
elections.
Our main findings can be summarized as follows:
1. Orange Mali (AS30985)**appears to have blocked access to WhatsApp
(app and web.whatsapp.com), Twitter, guardianproject.info and
anonymizer.ru in the evening of 29th July 2018 (election day). These
platforms had previously been accessible (pretty much) every day over
the last year in this network (strongly suggesting that they were
temporarily blocked).
2. Measurements collected from SOTELMA (AS21271)**don't show signs of
internet censorship on 29th July 2018. Therefore, social media sites
(and circumvention tool sites) weren't blocked by all ISPs on Mali's
election day.
If you're interested in expanding upon this study (particularly as
political events in Mali unfold), you can do so through the use of OONI
Probe (https://ooni.torproject.org/install/) and OONI data
(https://ooni.torproject.org/data/).
Thanks for reading!
All the best,
Maria.****
--
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.torproject.org/
PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E