Cyberbalkanization, in which countries seek to fence off the web into a series of national Internets, is worsening at an increasing pace.
It’s not just authoritarian countries trying to bend the global web to national values. The same social media companies that gave rise to unrest in the Middle East have come under fire in the West for allowing their services to be used to promote hatred and terrorism. In response, England and Australia have recently passed laws demanding tech firms provide easier access to web users’ communications.
When it comes to censorship, the process is more complicated in democratic countries than in dictatorships. In places like Iran and Venezuela, autocrats can order the Internet service provider—there’s typically only one—to block sites that displease them or tell a phone company to shut down an app. Democracies require the force of law, upheld by a judge, before governments can tamper with a website. Nonetheless, more countries are doing just that—often with worldwide effects.
(...) Online Censorship: A Global Guide
More governments are subjecting the Internet to national laws. Here are some examples:
Russia
The Kremlin signed a law in May to create a “sovereign Internet,” which will require ISPs to force all web traffic through special nodes controlled by the national censor.
France
After requiring Google to remove thousands of search results under a “right to be forgotten” law, France is leading an EU copyright push that many fear will prompt websites to ban users from uploading files.
Sri Lanka
After a terrorist attack, officials ordered ISPs to block social media sites. Shortly after restoring them in May, they ordered a new blackout to curb ethnic tensions.
