Censorship and Surveillance

• Internet censorship is when someone tries to control what other people can access on the Internet
• Some governments use censorship to restrict access to certain information
• One of the strictest countries for censorship is China
• China restrict access to websites which are critical of government - they also censor many major foreign websites including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
• In Cuba , citizens can only access the Internet from government-controlled access points
• Many governments use some form of censorship - Many countries (including the UK) restrict access to pornography, gambling and other inappropriate websites to protect children
• Computer surveillance is when someone monitors what other people are accessing on the Internet
• Government intelligence agencies may use packet sniffers and other software to monitor internet traffic , looking for key words or phrases that might alert them to illegal activities , terrorism etc.
• In some countries, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) keep records of all websites visited by all its customers for a certain amount of time
• Censorship and surveillance are controversial topics
• Some people support censorship and surveillance , in order to protect children or to stop terrorism
• Several non-profit organisations are against censorship and surveillance, and campaign against what they call cyber censorship and mass surveillance