Research

Access Books

The Access series represents three edited volumes published by the OpenNet Initiative and MIT Press that document nearly a decade of extensive technical and in-field research on the trends and patterns shaping information controls around the world. For more information on Access Denied: The practice and policy of global Internet filtering (2008), Access Controlled: The shaping of power, rights, and rule in cyberspace (2010), and Access Contested: Security, identity, and resistance in Asian cyberspace (2011)—including downloadable book chapters—please visit our Access Books subsite.

Country Profiles

Country profiles offer a synopsis of the findings and conclusions of ONI research into specific countries. The summaries also provide a basic framework for considering the factors influencing each country’s decision to filter or abstain from filtering the Internet, as well as the impact, relevance, and efficacy of technical filtering in a broader context of Internet censorship.

Regional Overviews

The eight regional overviews provide broad summaries that exhibit the ways in which the countries within each region are grappling with the implications of Internet freedom and the challenges of regulating online content. These overviews include background research and, when applicable, synthesize the findings of technical tests carried out in these regions.

Filtering Data

The OpenNet Initiative is pleased to announce the availability of our summarized global Internet filtering data as a downloadable CSV file under a Creative Commons license. The data provides an overview of the most recent ONI ratings of the breadth and depth of Internet censorship in seventy-four countries across four content categories (political, social, Internet tools and conflict/security). This release makes ONI data more accessible to researchers, journalists, and data mash-up developers.

For more information about our methodology, tools, and data, please see our FAQ.

Note: This data set has been revised since a previous release to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Reports & Articles

The reports and articles section contains larger research projects undertaken by ONI, including bulletins and advisories highlighting notable events related to Internet filtering and research into Internet filtering performed before the formation of ONI.

Year in Review

The Year in Review is the OpenNet Initiative's annual collection of the year's top instances of filtering, surveillance, and information warfare around the globe.

Filtering Maps

Our main filtering map is an interactive feature that depicts the states and regions where each type of filtering ONI studies is most prevalent.

Our social media map serves as an easy visual guide to the states and regions where filtering of five major social media sites—Facebook, Flickr, Orkut, Twitter, and YouTube—occurs.

For a detailed look of when and where YouTube has been filtered since 2006, check out YouTube Censored: A Recent History, ONI's interactive global timeline.