Project Psiphon : Defeating Internet Censorship
The world of ideas is now open to anyone with an Internet connection.
Students at the University of Toronto have developed a computer program designed to circumvent government
imposed Internet censorship. With it, they have developed a great tool for the promotion of freedom of speech
and information. People who live under even the most repressive of regimes may now bypass government control
of the Internet. They may now freely seek out or publish whatever information they choose. The computer program
that will allow them to do this is called "Psiphon."
Do you have friends or family in any of the following countries?
Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia,
Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
If so, they live in a country that Reporters Without Borders calls an "Internet Blackhole". The governments
of these countries extensively censor the Internet. Firewalls have been built to prevent certain pages from being
viewed. Usually the banned pages contain information about dissident or opposition groups. Often they are about
corrupt or criminal activities of the government itself. The blocking of these sites keeps populations uninformed.
Those who would seek change have been unable to communicate, unable to organize. That is about to change.
Here is a simplified explanation of how Psiphon works.
"You" = a resident of a country where the Internet is not censored.
"Your friend" = a resident of a country where Internet censorship is pervasive.
You download Psiphon, then contact your friend. Psiphon administrators will direct your friend
to a temporary website where they can download the program. Psiphon forms a link between your computer
and your friend's. Through this link, (and your IP address) your friend may view any sites that are
available to you. The government of your friend's country will think that their firewalls are working,
and will be unable to detect what the your friend is viewing, or publishing.
A word of warning, the person linking to you through Psiphon could have access to files on your computer,
so make sure you only link up with someone you trust. Also, it is reasonable to think that the governments
of "blacklisted" countries may one day be able to crack Psiphon, so keep your eye out for updates to the program,
and advise your friends to use it with caution.
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