Website blocking in the European Union
Network interference from the perspective of Open Internet
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21837679 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vasilis Ververis (0000-0002-7681-1147, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, corresponding author), Lucas Lasota (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Tatiana Ermakova (0000-0003-0864-3302, HTW Berlin - University of Applied Sciences), Benjamin Fabian (0000-0002-9585-1814, Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 121-148 |
| Publication date | 2024-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy & Internet (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1944-2866 • E-ISSN: 1944-2866 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/poi3.367 |
| OpenAlex | W4386864716 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 25 |
By establishing an infrastructure for monitoring and blocking networks in accordance with European Union (EU) law on preventive measures against the spread of information, EU member states have also made it easier to block websites and services and monitor information. While relevant studies have documented Internet censorship in non‐European countries, as well as the use of such infrastructures for political reasons, this study examines network interference practices such as website blocking against the backdrop of an almost complete lack of EU‐related research. Specifically, it performs and demonstrates an analysis for the total of 27 EU countries based on three different sources. They include first, tens of millions of historical network measurements collected in 2020 by Open Observatory of Network Interference volunteers from around the world; second, the publicly available blocking lists used by EU member states; and third, the reports issued by network regulators in each country from May 2020 to April 2021. Our results show that authorities issue multiple types of blocklists. Internet Service Providers limit access to different types and categories of websites and services. Such resources are sometimes blocked for unknown reasons and not included in any of the publicly available blocklists. The study concludes with the hurdles related to network measurements and the nontransparency from regulators regarding specifying website addresses in blocking activities
Business · Computer network · Computer security · European union · International trade · Internet privacy · Telecommunications · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |