Internet Censorship

Repressive governments often control access to the Internet to prevent individuals from circumventing controls on media, cultivate a climate of fear, and prevent or minimize dissent. Censorship of the Internet involves restricting access to and exerting control over its functionality and content. Government censorship, ranging from relatively mild steps such as antipornography measures to more draconian actions including the arrest and execution of cyberdissidents, has become an inescapable dimension of cyberspace. This entry explores Internet censorship in three stages. First, it offers an overview of the motivations to censor and the types and tools of censorship deployed. Second, it turns to how spatial variations in censorship can be explained. Finally, it turns to a series of examples of regional censorship to highlight how censorship varies ...