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Studies of Internet filtering, network interference, and other technologies and practices that impact freedom of expression online. 

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Getting it Right: UN Special Rapporteur Incorporates Citizen Lab Recommendations on Technology-Facilitated Violence, Abuse, and Harassment

The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Ms. Dubravka Šimonović, recently released her draft report to the Human Rights Council on online violence against women and girls from a human rights perspective. The Special Rapporteur’s report includes many key insights from the Citizen Lab’s formal response on this issue last fall and echoes many of our sixteen key recommendations.

Planet Netsweeper: Executive Summary

This report describes our investigation into the global proliferation of Internet filtering systems manufactured by the Canadian company, Netsweeper Inc.

Planet Netsweeper: Section 1 – Methodology & Technical Findings

This section details the research questions that informed our study. We also outline in detail the methods that we adopted to identify Netsweeper installations worldwide, and those that we employed to reduce the findings to countries of interest. We also present high-level technical findings and observations.

Planet Netsweeper: Section 2 – Country Case Studies

In this section, we spotlight several countries where we have evidence of public ISPs blocking websites using Netsweeper’s products. Each country has significant human rights, public policy, insecurity, or corruption challenges, and/or a history of using Internet censorship to prevent access to content that is protected under international human rights frameworks.

Planet Netsweeper: Section 3 – Discussion & Conclusions

This section examines the legal, regulatory, corporate social responsibility, and other public policy issues raised by our report’s findings. We focus on the responsibilities of Netsweeper, Inc. and the obligations of the Canadian government under international human rights law.