5/17/23, 10:44 PM OTF | The decentralised infrastructure of online censorship in Asia (https://www.opentech.fund) THE DECENTRALISED INFRASTRUCTURE OF ONLINE CENSORSHIP IN ASIA Mon, 2023-05-08 15:56 The following blog post was written by ICFP fellow Gurshabad Grover as a summary of their work and research on online censorship in Asia. Governments across the world engage in various forms of internet censorship – from internet shutdowns, geoblocking of social media posts or accounts, and blocking of specific websites and apps. When it comes to the latter, information controls can be ‘centralised’ – best represented by the archetype of a “great firewall (https://www.opentech.fund/news/how-chinese-internet-users-are-climbing-a-bigger-badder-great-firewalldaily-dot/)” that is largely state-controlled and managed. On the other hand, many governments rely on private companies such as internet service providers (ISPs) and internet exchanges to implement censorship and surveillance orders. In this blogpost, we discuss a spectrum of such ‘decentralised (https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10142204)’ information controls. We explore the legal background and technical architecture of information controls of three countries in Asia: India, Pakistan and Indonesia. The research includes first, an analysis of network measurements contributed by users, which helps us determine what websites are blocked, and what methods ISPs are using to block those websites. Second, we study the legal background and the powers of state authorities and the delegation of powers, if any, to private actors and other stakeholders. The analysis focuses on the network infrastructure, the state and private actors that control the infrastructure for censorship and surveillance, and the role of private players in exacerbating the adverse effects of censorship. India The Indian Government draws its powers of online censorship from the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The Government sends orders to internet service providers (ISPs), which in turn are responsible for implementing the blocking of web endpoints. While most censorship is state-ordered, private actors (primarily ISPs in India’s case) control the infrastructure for censorship and surveillance. https://www.opentech.fund/news/the-decentralised-infrastructure-of-online-censorship-in-asia/ 1/5