- ooni-talk - lists.torproject.org

OONI's hiring!
by Maria Xynou 01 Feb '19

01 Feb '19

Hello folks, OONI's hiring! Detailed information here: https://www.torproject.org/about/jobs-backenddeveloper.html.en We're looking for a Backend Engineer to join the OONI team to work on: * our data processing pipeline (& other backend components) * the improvement of our data analysis heuristics * the improvement of our network measurement methodologies This is a full-time 12-month contract position, starting ASAP (no later than mid-May 2019). The contract may be extended, depending on performance and available funds. Extensive experience in python or golang is required. Previous experience working with data processing pipelines & familiarity with the network measurement field is preferred. As OONI doesn't have an office, this is a remote position. Most OONI team members are based out of Europe. Do you know someone right for this position? We'd appreciate it if you could please share this job opening with your networks! Warm thanks, ~ 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

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New report: Blocking of Wikipedia & Social Media in Venezuela
by Maria Xynou 29 Jan '19

29 Jan '19

Hello, In collaboration with Venezuela Inteligente, IPYS Venezuela & DFRLab, we just published a new research report, titled: "From the blocking of Wikipedia to Social Media: Venezuela's Political Crisis". Our joint report is available via the following links: * OONI site: https://ooni.torproject.org/post/venezuela-blocking-wikipedia-and-social-me… * VI site: https://vesinfiltro.com/noticias/report-jan-2019/ * IPYS site: https://ipysvenezuela.org/2019/01/29/from-the-blocking-of-wikipedia-to-soci… We share OONI data on recent, politically-motivated cases of internet censorship in Venezuela, starting off with the blocking of Wikipedia, to then sharing data on the recent blocking of Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. We also examine network anomalies that occurred during last week's protests, which show that some Google IPs might have temporarily been blocked. OONI data findings were further corroborated through manual curl testing, in collaboration with Venezuela Inteligente. Our findings show that Venezuelan ISPs have started to rely on more advanced censorship techniques, beyond DNS-based censorship, as state-owned CANTV is implementing SNI-based filtering as well. This follows years of increased censorship events, as documented in our previous research report: https://ooni.io/post/venezuela-internet-censorship/ We observe a strong correlation between recent political events and internet censorship in Venezuela (explained comprehensively in our latest report). The situation remains tense and as political events unfold, the public can monitor censorship events through the use of OONI Probe (https://ooni.io/install/) and OONI data (https://ooni.io/data/) We thank all OONI Probe users in Venezuela who made this study possible. Please share our research with your networks: https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1090346458707050496 Thanks, ~ 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

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Revamped OONI Probe mobile app on F-Droid
by Maria Xynou 24 Jan '19

24 Jan '19

Hello, The revamped OONI Probe mobile app is available on F-Droid! :) https://f-droid.org/packages/org.openobservatory.ooniprobe/ 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

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New report on Zimbabwe social media blocking & internet blackouts
by Maria Xynou 23 Jan '19

23 Jan '19

Hello, In collaboration with the Digital Society of Zimbabwe, we co-published a research report examining the blocking of social media & the 2 internet blackouts in Zimbabwe over the last week. Our joint report is available via the following links: https://ooni.io/post/zimbabwe-protests-social-media-blocking-2019/ http://www.dszim.org/2019/01/23/zimbabwe-protests-social-media-blocking-and… We share OONI data that shows the blocking of WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. We are - probably for the first time - able to, indirectly, observe the presence of 2 internet blackouts as well via the lack of OONI measurements across networks during specific time-frames. This is further corroborated by IODA data (also shared in this report), as well as by relevant reporting by locals, community members, and the media. OONI data also shows that the blocking of social media was lifted on 21st January 2019, when the High Court ruled that internet shutdowns are illegal and ordered the government to restore connectivity. If you're interested in expanding upon this study, you can do so by: * Running OONI Probe: https://ooni.io/install/ * Analyzing OONI data (collected from Zimbabwe or elsewhere): https://ooni.io/data/ We thank all OONI Probe users in Zimbabwe who made this study 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

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Year in Review: OONI in 2018
by Maria Xynou 18 Jan '19

18 Jan '19

Hello, We published a post to share some OONI highlights from 2018 (also including some of the exciting new projects we're launching this year!): https://ooni.torproject.org/post/ooni-in-2018/ Many thanks to all community members for strengthening the fight against internet censorship! 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

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OONI Probe Mobile 2.0 Launched!
by Maria Xynou 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Hello, The OONI team is thrilled to announce the launch of OONI Probe mobile 2.0! To install the app: * Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.openobservatory.ooniprobe * iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1199566366 If you already have the OONI Probe mobile app installed, just update to the latest version. Some highlights from the new app include: * Major UI overhaul => New design and UX! * Enhanced Website Testing => (a) You can test the websites of your choice directly inside the app, (b) You can choose which categories of sites (e.g. media, human rights, etc.) to test, (c) You can test country-specific websites (in addition to internationally-relevant ones) * Overview of Test Results => You can view, at a glance, what's happening on your network & easily compare results * Data usage tracking Learn all about the revamped OONI Probe mobile app through our announcement blog post: https://ooni.torproject.org/post/revamped-ooni-probe-mobile-app/ Today's launch wouldn't have been possible without all the extremely valuable community feedback provided over the years (since the initial launch in February 2017), as well as during recent usability studies. We'd therefore like to thank you. A big thanks also goes to all the OONI Probe 2.0 beta testers who provided very useful feedback as we were working towards the release! We'd also like to thank the Localization Lab and all the translators who generously translated the OONI Probe mobile app to the following 15 languages: Chinese, Taiwanese, Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Russian, Turkish, Spanish, Catalan, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Greek, Albanian. Finally, we'd like to thank the OTF for supporting the development of OONI Probe since the very beginning. We hope you find the revamped app useful to your research and advocacy efforts! Please help spread the word: https://twitter.com/OpenObservatory/status/1084736295568519168 Warm thanks, ~ 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

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OONI FAQ: Please tell us which questions you want us to answer :)
by Maria Xynou 29 Nov '18

29 Nov '18

Hello friends, The OONI team is creating a (long-postponed) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section to publish on our site. The aim of the FAQ will be to address any questions you (and/or the communities you work with!) have in relation to OONI Probe, OONI data, test lists, etc. (basically, all components under the OONI-verse). So far, we have compiled the questions that are listed in this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-faq Please help us better serve you and the broader community by letting us know: * Which questions we're missing (that you think should be included in the FAQ!) * Whether certain questions should be re-phrased * Whether certain questions should be listed in a different order * Whether we have included any redundant questions (that could be omitted) We're aiming to publish the FAQ section in December 2018, but it will be a working document - meaning that if you have feedback at a later stage, we can always update the published FAQ. Thanks so much for your time and support! 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

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OONI Community Meeting: Tomorrow, 27th November
by Maria Xynou 26 Nov '18

26 Nov '18

Hello, The OONI team warmly welcomes you to join us tomorrow for our monthly community meeting. Where: https://slack.openobservatory.org/ (OONI Slack channel) When: Tuesday, 27th November 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. Please add topics that you'd like to discuss during 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 (#ooni) on 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

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Public beta testing of OONI Probe mobile apps
by Maria Xynou 19 Nov '18

19 Nov '18

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

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[New report] Uganda's Social Media Tax through the lens of network measurements
by Maria Xynou 12 Nov '18

12 Nov '18

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

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