Censorship circumvention from a publisher's perspective

[ UUID ] 4b6ba401-126b-4947-bc13-f8f28b008ba0

[ Session Name ] Censorship circumvention from a publisher's perspective [ Primary Space ] Decentralisation [ Secondary Space ] Privacy and Security

[ Submitter's Name ] Michał Woźniak [ Submitter's Affiliated Organisation ] Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project [ Submitter's GitHub ] @rysiekpl

What will happen in your session?

We will go through different Internet censorship circumvention tools that can be used to access censored content, from the perspective of a publisher.

Reader's perspective is pretty well described, and there is a myriad of known tools - Tor Browser, for one. From the publisher's perspective, however, things look grim. All such tools (Tor, DAT, IPFS, etc) require readers to install additional software, and often configure it in very specific ways, to be able to access the blocked content. This usually proves unreasonable an expectation.

OCCRP is an investigative journalism outlet, which is blocked in places like Azerbaijan. We'd like to explore different methods of making our content available so that information can reach our audiences.

What is the goal or outcome of your session?

Noting challenges with how the Internet currently works ("centralized content delivery networks", "DDoS protection systems that rely on a large single provider") that skew the playing field towards the censors.

Cataloging available censorship circumvention tools available for publishers as ways to make their blocked content more widely available, with pros and cons of each.

Creating a list of actionable items (like "Integrating Tor into Firefox's Private Mode", "integrating the DAT protocol in major browsers") that could potentially improve publishers' ability to reach their audience, even when blocked.

If your session requires additional materials or electronic equipment, please outline your needs.

A whiteboard or flipchart would be very useful, plus markers and post-its. A beamer would also be very welcome.

Time needed

60 mins