Internet censorship in Syria

Main article: Internet in Syria
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Internet censorship in Syria is extensive; with numerous websites and online platforms being banned for political reasons. Internet usage is authorized only through state-run servers and people accessing through other means are arrested.[1][2] Filtering and blocking was found to be pervasive in the political and Internet tools areas, and selective in the social and conflict/security areas by the OpenNet Initiative in August 2009.[2]

After the mass protests of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the government of Bashar al-Assad has intensified cyber-surveillace measures and internet blockades across Syria.[3] Internet connectivity between Syria and the outside world shut down in late November 2011,[4] and again in early May 2013.[5] Syria is one of the five countries on the Reporters Without Borders organization's March 2013 list of "State Enemies of the Internet".[6] Syria's Internet was cut off more than ten times in 2013, and again in March 2014.[7][8]

Access to online information in Syria is tightly controlled by cyber surveillance facilities affiliated with the Assad government.[9] As of 2021, large amount of websites are blocked, including Wikipedia. While it is possible for users to bypass blocks through proxy apps, Syrian cyber forces use tracking software to identify the IP addresses of such users.[10]

  1. ^ "Freedom in the World 2006" (PDF). Freedom House. 2005-12-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2006-07-27.See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom
  2. ^ a b "ONI Country Profile: Syria", OpenNet Initiative, August 2009
  3. ^ The Enemies of the Internet Special Edition : Surveillance Archived 31 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Reporters Without Borders, 12 March 2013
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Register_cutoff was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Syrian state media blames countrywide Internet outage on problem with fiber optics cable". Washington Post. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  6. ^ The Enemies of the Internet Special Edition : Surveillance Archived 31 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Reporters Without Borders, 12 March 2013
  7. ^ "Syria Hit by Widespread Internet Outage", Sharon Gaudin, Computer World, 21 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Syria hit with a near nationwide Internet outage for seven plus hours", Andrea Peterson, Washington Post, 20 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Enemies of the Internet 2014" (PDF). rsf.org. Reporters Without Borders. 12 March 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2018.
  10. ^ al-Ibrahim, Mokhtar (7 April 2021). "Censorship In Syria: A Double 'Virtual' Penalty". Archived from the original on 1 April 2023.