Hello,
This email shares OONI's monthly report for October 2024.
*# OONI Monthly Report: October 2024*
Throughout October 2024, the OONI team’s work can be tracked through the various OONI GitHub repositories: https://github.com/ooni
Highlights are shared in this report below.
*## Launched OONI Run v2*
In October 2024, we launched OONI Run v2: the next generation version of OONI Run (https://run.ooni.org/).
Since 2017, OONI Run has supported community-driven efforts aimed at coordinating the testing of website blocks -- particularly during political events which triggered censorship events. With the launch of OONI Run v2, we address key community feedback (identified through an extensive usability study).
We published a blog post which shares detailed information, as well as a step-by-step guide (with screenshots) for using OONI Run v2: https://ooni.org/post/2024-launch-ooni-run-v2/
OONI Run v2 (https://run.ooni.org/) is a major revamp, enabling you to dynamically coordinate censorship testing with OONI Probe users around the world.
With OONI Run v2: * Create a (short!) link for the websites you want to measure for censorship * Share that link with OONI Probe users * Update your OONI Run link anytime if you want to add/change URLs (your community of testers will get updates automatically!) * Automated testing is supported (for you and your community) * Find your OONI Run v2 measurements on OONI Explorer ( https://explorer.ooni.org/) as open data in real-time (based on the OONI Run link ID)
OONI Run v2 is currently only supported on Android. Please update to the latest OONI Probe Android version (4.0.0) to start using OONI Run v2: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.openobservatory.ooniprobe
With the launch of OONI Run v2, we also introduced UI improvements to OONI Probe Android: https://ooni.org/post/2024-launch-ooni-run-v2/#ui-changes-to-ooni-probe-andr...
We thank the OONI community for their invaluable feedback, which informed the design of OONI Run v2!
*## Updated OONI Data Policy*
In October 2024, we updated the OONI Data Policy to account for changes introduced with the launch of OONI Run v2. The edits to the OONI Data Policy are available through this pull request: https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1601
The updated OONI Data Policy is available here: https://ooni.org/about/data-policy
*## Published animation about the OONI Partner Gathering 2024*
In May 2024, we had the opportunity to host the OONI Partner Gathering 2024: a two-day event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we brought our partners from Asia and the Middle East together to exchange skills and knowledge on internet censorship research ( https://ooni.org/post/2024-ooni-partner-gathering-report/).
In October 2024, we published a new animation about the OONI Partner Gathering, which is available here: https://ooni.org/post/2024-ooni-partner-gathering-animation/
This animation provides a glimpse into the event, highlighting the importance of community participation in censorship measurement research.
We thank Robotina (https://www.robotina.it/) for collaborating with us on the creation of this animation. We also thank the Ford Foundation and Luminate for supporting the OONI Partner Gathering 2024, as well as our partners for making the event an important experience through their participation.
*## Published OONI Community Interview with Chido Musodza from Localization Lab*
In October 2024, we published a new OONI Community Interview with Chido Musodza, Program Associate, Community Engagement at Localization Lab ( https://www.localizationlab.org/).
You can watch Chido’s interview and learn about her work here: https://ooni.org/post/2024-interview-with-chido-musodza/
Through the OONI Community Interview series, we aim to share the amazing work of our partners, highlighting the different ways through which they make use of OONI tools and data. You can find more OONI Community Interviews through our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrclQ2QZjVo&list=PL1sH9kYR-16nWkDJwY-NAa...
*## Presenting thematic censorship findings on OONI Explorer*
In October 2024, we focused on developing the new thematic censorship findings pages for OONI Explorer. These pages will focus on OONI measurements pertaining to News Media ( https://github.com/ooni/explorer/issues/940), Social Media ( https://github.com/ooni/explorer/issues/939), and Circumvention Tools ( https://github.com/ooni/explorer/issues/941) and will offer users a way to explore OONI data focused on these specific themes. Notably, we completed the core development work necessary to unblock our internal testing and polishing of the pages prior to the upcoming launch.
We made significant improvements to our findings API to enhance censorship event analysis. Specifically, we: * Added support for filtering by theme, domains, country codes and ASNs ( https://github.com/ooni/backend/pull/890); * Implemented support for storing and filtering findings by theme ( https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/889); * Added the ability to filter by domain name in the findings endpoints ( https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/881).
These API improvements make it significantly easier for researchers and analysts to identify and investigate potential censorship events across different regions and themes.
*## Automating censorship detection and characterization based on OONI measurements*
In October 2024, we made significant progress in improving our censorship detection capabilities and data processing pipeline infrastructure.
Specifically, we expanded our blocking fingerprint database by: * Adding new Indonesian fingerprints that were reported through our community channels (https://github.com/ooni/blocking-fingerprints/pull/19); * Incorporating the piracyshield blockpage fingerprint ( https://github.com/ooni/blocking-fingerprints/pull/18).
These additions enhance our ability to automatically identify and categorize different types of internet censorship across various regions.
We continued working towards the deployment and optimization of the OONI Pipeline v5 by: * Setting up production deployment infrastructure through ansible, improving our ability to consistently deploy and manage the pipeline ( https://github.com/ooni/devops/pull/105); * Initiating the reprocessing of all 2024 data on data.ooni.org following our schema improvements (https://github.com/ooni/data/issues/90); * Moving critical infrastructure components from ooni/sysadmin to ooni/devops, making our deployment process more streamlined and maintainable.
*## Activities supported by OTF FOSS### OONI Probe Engine*
In October 2024, we addressed an issue where measurements could not be run if the Psiphon proxy was used (https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2810). We also started working towards shipping OONI Probe 3.24.0 ( https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2813).
*### OONI Probe Mobile#### Released OONI Probe Android 4.0.0 with support for OONI Run v2*
Notably, we released OONI Probe Android 4.0.0 with support for OONI Run v2: https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/releases/tag/v4.0.0
Specifically, the OONI Probe Android 4.0.0 includes the following important changes: * Next generation of OONI Run - OONI Run v2! * Updated UI of the cards displayed on the dashboard * Test settings for individual tests on each card * Changes to the "Run" button to allow users to enable/disable specific tests, including both OONI Probe tests and installed OONI Run links
Further details about the UI improvements introduced to OONI Probe Android are available here: https://ooni.org/post/2024-launch-ooni-run-v2/#ui-changes-to-ooni-probe-andr...
*#### Multiplatform project*
We continued to make progress on our multi-platform project that aims to refactor the OONI Probe mobile app. We continued iterating on the News Media Scan iOS app by ensuring the UI matches the Android app ( https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/122). We also began our internal QA for the News Media Scan app, as well as for the OONI Probe application.
We worked on many details necessary to get us closer to launching the re-architected OONI Probe applications. These included:
* Completing the onboarding flow: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/156 * Adding support for automated testing: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/pull/150 * Ensuring all proper icons are used: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/161 * Ensuring the app is usable in landscape orientation: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/196 * Fixing some issues that appeared when the font was enlarged: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/132
Here is a list of all issues closed in October 2024: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aclosed+...
*### OONI Run*
Throughout October 2024, we continued with our preparations for the launch of OONI Run v2 on Android. We first released the OONI Run v2-enabled version of OONI Probe to our open testing or “beta” channel on the Google Play store (https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2803). We then monitored the measurement volume for a period of several weeks, and compared it to a previous beta release. This helped increase our confidence that we would not ship any bugs that could impact overall measurement volume. After this additional testing and monitoring we proceeded with the launch of OONI Run v2.
*### OONI Backend Maintenance & DevOps*
In addition to the regular maintenance and monitoring of our infrastructure, specific tasks that we worked on this month include the following:
* We made progress on refactoring our measurements service to adhere to our current standards/patterns for development: https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/877 * We took steps to set up a new primary test server and aimed to ensure it replicates production as close as possible: https://github.com/ooni/devops/issues/110 * We worked on reducing the sizes of our machines to be more cost effective: https://github.com/ooni/devops/pull/107 * We implemented log rotation for docker files after 100MB to prevent disk space issues: https://github.com/ooni/devops/pull/108
Overall, thanks to the various improvements to our infrastructure deployment, we were able to significantly reduce cloud costs by a factor of 2. We aim to continue these improvements as we move forward.
*## Published updated backend developer job opening*
As part of our ongoing search (which started in June 2024) to hire another backend developer for OONI, we updated our existing backend developer job opening and re-published it in October 2024 ( https://ooni.org/post/2024-job-opening-ooni-backend-developer/). This resulted in receiving many more strong applications from developers around the world. We therefore allocated time towards reviewing new applications, following up with candidates, and interviewing shortlisted candidates.
*## OONI partner workshop series*
In support of our global network of partners (https://ooni.org/partners), we initiated an online workshop series with the goal of sharing skills and knowledge for censorship measurement research. In October 2024, we facilitated 2 workshops for our partners.
Specifically, OONI’s Elizaveta facilitated the following workshops for our partners:
* Introduction to Internet Censorship (9th October 2024) * Network Measurement: What exactly are we measuring and how can one contribute? (17th October 2024)
*## Updated our research report on internet censorship in Kazakhstan*
Based on community feedback, we made some minor edits to the TLS MITM section of the research report that we previously published on internet censorship in Kazakhstan (https://ooni.org/post/2024-kazakhstan-report/).
We applied these edits to both versions of our report in: * English: https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1615 * Russian: https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1616
*## Test list updates*
In October 2024, we reviewed and merged several community contributions adding news media websites to the Hong Kong test list: https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1826/ https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1828
In preparation for Georgia’s 2024 elections, we merged several contributions to the Georgian test list to encourage the testing of news media websites covering the elections: https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1837 https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1838 https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1851 https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1849 https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1847
*## Rapid response### Blocking of Twitter/X in Azerbaijan*
On 8th October 2024, Azerbaijan blocked access to Twitter/X. On the same day, we responded by sharing relevant OONI data through social media channels: https://x.com/OpenObservatory/status/1843812546765267382
We also shared OONI data on the blocking of Twitter/X in Azerbaijan with advocacy groups.
*### Blocking of Discord in Russia and Turkiye*
On 8th October 2024, both Russia and Turkiye started blocking access to Discord. On the same day, we responded by sharing relevant OONI data through social media channels: https://x.com/OpenObservatory/status/1843815747094753847
*## Community use of OONI data### iMAP 2024 reports on internet censorship in 9 Asian countries*
On 22nd October 2024, our long-term partner, Sinar Project ( https://ooni.org/partners/sinar-project/), in collaboration with their Internet Monitoring Action Project (iMAP) partners, launched the iMAP 2024 State of Internet Censorship Report covering 9 countries: Cambodia, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. All of these research reports are based on the analysis of OONI data.
All iMAP 2024 reports are available here: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024
Specifically, the iMAP 2024 reports document internet censorship (based on OONI data) in the following countries: * Cambodia: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-cambodia-2024-internet-censo... * Hong Kong (China): https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-hong-kong-china-2024-interne... * India: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-india-2024-internet-censorsh... * Indonesia: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-indonesia-2024-internet-cens... * Malaysia: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-malaysia-2024-internet-censo... * Myanmar: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-myanmar-2024-internet-censor... * Philippines: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-philippines-2024-internet-ce... * Thailand: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-thailand-2024-internet-censo... * Vietnam: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-vietnam-2024-internet-censor...
*### Freedom on the Net 2024 reports*
Freedom House published their annual Freedom on the Net report ( https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2024/struggle-trust-online), which includes numerous country reports ( https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-net/scores).
This year, OONI data was cited in 35 (out of 72) Freedom on the Net 2024 reports. Specifically, OONI data is cited in the following Freedom on the Net country reports:
* Azerbaijan: https://freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan/freedom-net/2024 * Bangladesh: https://freedomhouse.org/country/bangladesh/freedom-net/2024 * Belarus: https://freedomhouse.org/country/belarus/freedom-net/2024 * Brazil: https://freedomhouse.org/country/brazil/freedom-net/2024 * Cambodia: https://freedomhouse.org/country/cambodia/freedom-net/2024 * Cuba: https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba/freedom-net/2024 * Egypt: https://freedomhouse.org/country/egypt/freedom-net/2024 * Ethiopia: https://freedomhouse.org/country/ethiopia/freedom-net/2024 * India: https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-net/2024 * Iran: https://freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-net/2024 * Italy: https://freedomhouse.org/country/italy/freedom-net/2024 * Jordan: https://freedomhouse.org/country/jordan/freedom-net/2024 * Kenya: https://freedomhouse.org/country/kenya/freedom-net/2024 * Lebanon: https://freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-net/2024 * Libya: https://freedomhouse.org/country/libya/freedom-net/2024 * Malaysia: https://freedomhouse.org/country/malaysia/freedom-net/2024 * Mexico: https://freedomhouse.org/country/mexico/freedom-net/2024 * Myanmar: https://freedomhouse.org/country/myanmar/freedom-net/2024 * Nigeria: https://freedomhouse.org/country/nigeria/freedom-net/2024 * Pakistan: https://freedomhouse.org/country/pakistan/freedom-net/2024 * Russia: https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-net/2024 * Rwanda: https://freedomhouse.org/country/rwanda/freedom-net/2024 * Saudi Arabia: https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia/freedom-net/2024 * Sri Lanka: https://freedomhouse.org/country/sri-lanka/freedom-net/2024 * Sudan: https://freedomhouse.org/country/sudan/freedom-net/2024 * Thailand: https://freedomhouse.org/country/thailand/freedom-net/2024 * Tunis: https://freedomhouse.org/country/tunisia/freedom-net/2024 * Turkey: https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2024 * Uganda: https://freedomhouse.org/country/uganda/freedom-net/2024 * UAE: https://freedomhouse.org/country/united-arab-emirates/freedom-net/2024 * UK: https://freedomhouse.org/country/united-kingdom/freedom-net/2024 * Uzbekistan: https://freedomhouse.org/country/uzbekistan/freedom-net/2024 * Venezuela: https://freedomhouse.org/country/venezuela/freedom-net/2024 * Zambia: https://freedomhouse.org/country/zambia/freedom-net/2024 * Zimbabwe: https://freedomhouse.org/country/zimbabwe/freedom-net/2024
*### Report on internet health in Cuba*
In October 2024, community members published a report on internet health in Cuba, which makes use of OONI data: https://guardianesdigitales.blogspot.com/2024/10/informe-6-sobre-la-salud-de...
As part of this report, they used OONI Probe to collect measurements and they used OONI Explorer to analyze OONI data and generate charts to document blocks in Cuba.
They have also published several other reports over the past year, documenting internet censorship in Cuba based on OONI data: https://guardianesdigitales.blogspot.com/2024/07/informe-5-sobre-la-salud-de... https://guardianesdigitales.blogspot.com/2024/04/informe-4-sobre-la-salud-de... https://guardianesdigitales.blogspot.com/2023/12/estudio-trimestral-sobre-la... https://guardianesdigitales.blogspot.com/2023/12/censura-y-restricciones-de-...
*### Karisma Foundation report on blocks in Colombia*
Our partner, Karisma Foundation ( https://ooni.org/partners/karisma-foundation/), published a report on emergent blocks in Colombia based on OONI data: https://obi.karisma.org.co/2024-10-28-colombia-bloqueo-bitcoin-e-independent...
Specifically, their report documents the blocking of Bitcoin and The Independent news media website in Colombia based on OONI data.
*## Community-led presentations### Phnom Penh Internet Forum 2024* On 18th October 2024, the Advocacy and Policy Institute (API) presented the iMAP Cambodia 2024 Internet Censorship Report (which is based on OONI data) at the Phnom Penh Internet Forum ( https://ppifcambodia.net/ppif-home/agenda-en/).
Read the iMAP Cambodia 2024 Internet Censorship Report here: https://imap.sinarproject.org/reports/2024/imap-cambodia-2024-internet-censo...
The event and presentation of the censorship findings received the following press coverage: https://cambojanews.com/phnom-penh-internet-forum-calls-attention-to-digital...
*## Community activities### Lightning talk at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University*
On 8th October 2024, OONI’s Maria gave a lightning talk at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (https://cyber.harvard.edu/) where she introduced other fellows to her fellowship research, which aims to explore how internet censorship changed globally over the past eight years. As part of this lightning talk, Maria also briefly introduced participants to OONI tools and data.
*### Panel discussion on internet censorship policies in Indonesia*
On 10th October 2024, OONI’s Mehul participated in a panel discussion (“Unraveling Government’s Content Moderation and Internet Access Restrictions Policies and Implementation Techniques”) – organized by our partner, SAFEnet (https://ooni.org/partners/safenet/) – on internet censorship policies in Indonesia.
As part of his participation, Mehul introduced participants to OONI tools and methods and he shared some censorship findings from OONI measurements collected from Indonesia.
*### OONI training session for SHOOA*
On 10th October 2024, OONI’s Elizaveta hosted an OONI training session for SHOAA (https://shoaa.org/), a digital rights organization from Algeria. During this session, participants learned how to use OONI Probe, OONI Run, the OONI Test Lists Editor and OONI Explorer to document and investigate internet censorship.
*### OONI training of trainers (ToT) for civil society activists in Senegal*
On 11th October 2024, OONI’s Elizaveta facilitated a full-day, hybrid, training of trainers (ToT) for civil society activists from Senegal. This training of trainers event was organized by our Senegalese partners, Computech Institute (https://ooni.org/partners/computech/) and Jonction.
As part of the training, Elizaveta covered all OONI tools (OONI Probe, OONI Run, Test Lists Editor, OONI Explorer) and prepared 10 civil society activists to run similar training sessions in their regions in Senegal.
*### Presentation of research report at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2024 Kazakhstan*
On 16th October 2024, OONI’s Elizaveta presented the findings from our new research report on internet censorship in Kazakhstan ( https://ooni.org/post/2024-kazakhstan-report/) at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2024 Kazakhstan (https://igf.kz/en/main/#agenda).
The presentation of the report at the event received the following press coverage: https://bes.media/news/mitm-ataki-i-tsenzura-raskriti-metodi-pravitelstvenni...
*### M-Lab Community Call on large scale internet measurements*
On 17th October 2024, OONI’s Maria participated as a panelist in M-Lab’s community call discussion on challenges and lessons learned from large scale internet measurements.
Watch the full Community Call discussion on M-Lab’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq-v5GfYInQ
*### Panel at Decrypting Digital Authoritarianism conference*
On 29th October 2024, OONI’s Arturo participated in the conference "Decrypting Digital Authoritarianism" at the European University Institute, which focused on examining how internet usage can impact democracy and human rights.
Arturo was a speaker in the roundtable discussion "Strategies and counterstrategies of digital authoritarianism in practice," alongside representatives from Freedom House, Deutsche Welle, Meta, Project Liberty – Sciences Po, and the Freedom Online Coalition ( https://x.com/EUI_Schuman/status/1851192966615896490).
The session, chaired by Patryk Pawlak, explored various approaches to identifying and countering digital authoritarian practices. Throughout the conference, Arturo engaged in discussions with other participants about documenting and responding to digital authoritarianism globally.
*### OONI Run v2 demo for Localization Lab community*
On 30th October 2024, OONI’s Elizaveta provided a live demo of using our new OONI Run v2 tool (https://run.ooni.org/) for the Localization Lab community (https://www.localizationlab.org/). The goal of this session was to introduce the Localization Lab’s translator community (who localize OONI tools) to OONI Run v2, address their questions, and collect their feedback.
*### OONI Community Meeting*
On 29th October 2024, we hosted the monthly OONI Community Meeting on our Slack channel (https://slack.ooni.org/).
We dedicated this meeting to the discussion of the recently launched OONI Run v2 tool (https://ooni.org/post/2024-launch-ooni-run-v2/). Community members asked many questions, shared feedback and feature requests, as documented in our community meeting pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting-keep
*## Measurement coverage*
In October 2024, 56,985,335 OONI Probe measurements were collected from 2,964 networks in 176 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.