ONI Releases Special Report on the Use of Western Technologies by Middle East Censors

By rebekah Heacock of ONI

The recent political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has thrown into focus the information shaping, events-based blocking, and counter-control activities undertaken by governments throughout the region. New research by the OpenNet Initiative shows that many of these activities are supported by Western filtering tools and services.

The OpenNet Initiative is pleased to release its new special report, "West Censoring East: The Use of Western Technologies by Middle East Censors, 2010-2011" by Helmi Noman and Jillian C. York.

The report analyzes the use of American and Canadian-made tools Websense, McAfee SmartFilter, and Netsweeper for the purpose of government-level filtering in the Middle East and North Africa. The investigation found that nine countries in the region utilize Western-made tools.