INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN 2023 51 In 2023, the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) launched new OONI Explorer features for investigating internet shutdowns which integrated data from Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA), Cloudflare Radar, and Google traffic data to enable people to more easily track and identify internet connectivity disruptions based on signals from various datasets. OONI also produced an outreach toolkit that was localized in five languages, making its measurement tools more accessible to more people, and added a feedback mechanism to improve the quality of OONI data.298 Measurement Tools Since 2021, the IT service management firm Cloudflare has facilitated evidencegathering for tracking of shutdowns globally. In 2023, they added a notifications feature to Cloudflare Radar, enabling anyone to get automatic notifications about confirmed outages (including shutdowns) and observed traffic anomalies (which can indicate a shutdown). The company also began to provide the public with direct updates on shutdowns using various digital platforms.299 In 2023, IODA conducted applied research on the technical and political signatures of shutdowns to help those monitoring disruptions better distinguish between a government-ordered internet shutdown and other outages.300 This research sets a foundation for more effective monitoring and potential predictive analytics. IODA also improved the usefulness of its outage data by grading and color-coding shutdowns according to severity, now visible on its country and region outage maps.301 Finally, the project developed new functionality to help researchers analyze shutdown signals and share IODA outage data and visualizations, improving people’s capacity to verify, confirm, and advocate against shutdowns. Circumvention Tools Responding to the increasing crackdown on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and circumvention tools around the world, the Tor Project improved its censorshipresistant infrastructure by expanding its toolkit. The project introduced the Webtunnel and Conjure, tools to make it more difficult for censors to spy on website traffic or block "phantom" proxies without incurring significant collateral damage. They also updated the Tor Browser to make it easier for people to connect to bridges and keep their connection to the Tor network hidden. In addition to making its tools more user-friendly, Tor has closely collaborated with people and communities impacted by shutdowns and censorship to collect and share real-time, localized information on how to bypass censorship, translating the content into languages including Arabic, Swahili, and Chinese to enhance rapid response.302 298 OONI (2023). New OONI Explorer features for investigating censorship through open data. https://ooni.org/post/2023-newexplorer-features/; see also OONI (2023). OONI Outreach Kit. https://ooni.org/support/ooni-outreach-kit/ 299 Cloudflare (2023). Traffic anomalies and notifications with Cloudflare radar. https://blog.cloudflare.com/traffic-anomalies-notificationsradar 300 IODA (2023). First Interdisciplinary, Longitudinal Study of Internet Shutdowns and Outages. https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech. edu/reports/interdisciplinary-longitudinal-study-of-shutdowns-and-outages/ 301 IODA (2023). IODA update: Design Standards + Outage Severity Map. https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/reports/ioda-updatedesignstandards-outagemap/ 302 The Tor Project (2023). 2023: Year in Review: Tor Project. https://blog.torproject.org/2023-year-in-review/