NetBlocks tool tracks cost of internet shutdowns

10 Dec 18 | Digital Freedom, Fellowship, Fellowship 2017, News and features, Sri Lanka, Turkey

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”104234″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]“Internet shutdowns are increasingly used by governments to control the flow of information, particularly around elections or political unrest,”  Alp Toker, executive director and founder of the NetBlocks group, told Index on Censorship.

NetBlocks, which grew out of the 2017 Freedom of Expression Digital Activism Award-winning Turkey Blocks, is a nonprofit organisation created in 2016 to harness technology to map internet freedom. The civil society group aims to protect and support digital rights, cyber-security and internet governance.

“The goal is to go beyond research into prototyping, implementation and deployment of completely new mechanisms that might be able in future to protect and extend our fundamental rights,” Toker said.

NetBlocks has partnered with the Internet Society to create a new tool, Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST), that will cover social media and key content platforms, as well as full internet blackouts.

“What’s the cost of censorship? How much do internet shutdowns cost ordinary citizens? These are the questions we set out to answer at NetBlocks with COST, because traditional advocacy around freedom of expression doesn’t always make the impact it should, but financial figures make authorities listen,” Toker said.

The COST tool has been in a beta mode throughout 2018. NetBlocks estimated a loss of £23.7 million from the March 2018 Sri Lankan internet shutdowns that took place in response to violent riots.

COST’s main goal is to spread awareness about the true costs and effects of online shutdowns. The NetBlocks teams hopes that this will prompt citizens to put pressure on the authoritarian governments who are most responsible for online censorship.

Gillian Trudeau from Index on Censorship spoke to Alp Toker about NetBlock’s new tool, COST, and what to expect from it.

Index: What is the Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST) and what does it do?

Toker: What’s the cost of censorship? How much do internet shutdowns cost ordinary citizens? These are the questions we set out to answer at NetBlocks with COST, because traditional advocacy around freedom of expression doesn’t always make the impact it should, but financial figures make authorities listen.

The Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST) is a data-driven online tool to quickly and easily estimate the economic cost of internet disruptions. Built around economic methodologies devised by the Brookings Institution and CIPESA, the Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST) estimates economic cost of internet shutdowns, mobile data blackouts and social media restrictions using regional indicators from the World Bank, ITU, Eurostat and U.S. Census. The tool will cover shutdowns affecting social media, key content platforms and full Internet blackouts using key indicators relating to the global digital economy. COST is officially launching Monday 10 December, 2018.

Index: What do you hope to achieve with the project?

Toker: We hope to enable anyone – including journalists, researchers, advocates, policy makers, businesses — to understand how much internet disruptions can cost economies, as well as support advocacy and policy work to end online mass-censorship.

Index: How did your relationship with the Internet Society start and what do they bring to the project?

Toker: The Internet Society (ISOC) is a global organisation with over one hundred chapters around the world dedicated to ensuring that the internet stays free and open. We connected at the Internet Engineering Task Force where we are working to strengthen internet protocols for human rights, and things immediately clicked. The partnership has been very strong because it is built around both impact around human rights and technological development — areas of expertise for both organisations. With the Internet Society’s global access, we’ve been able to explore new ways to identify and push back against internet disruptions that harm human rights around the world.

Index: Why should we be concerned about internet shutdowns?

Toker: Internet shutdowns are increasingly used by governments to control the flow of information, particularly around elections or political unrest. Internet shutdowns create chaos through all facets life, from accessing medical services to getting in contact with family members.

Through our work in the #KeepItOn campaign, we’re continuing to monitor these shutdowns around the world. Open access to internet is a key part of a functioning democracy, and is protected by international law and conventions.

Index: What cost estimates do you have for internet shutdowns in 2018?

Toker: In it’s beta mode, the tool has already been used to bolster advocacy efforts around the world. Our first experience using the tool in advocacy came when Sri Lanka shut down parts of the internet during protests, leading to an estimated loss of $30,000,000 USD. Because we were able to calculate the number instantly, it became the basis of a national campaign launched by Sri Lanka’s Social Media User’s Union. In Iraq, multi-day outages cost the economy an estimated $40,000,000 USD. Again, this figure was picked up widely by local and international media and caught the attention of everyone from street vendors to the oil industry. Another shutdown in Ethiopia had a more modest impact of 3,500,000 birr, but that impact targeted a small region with a developing economy and its impact was felt hard. Working with the #KeepItOn coalition, we wrote to the Ethiopian government to highlight the concern with their policy.

Index: What trends in internet shutdowns can we expect COST to uncover in 2019?

Toker: There is a growing tendency toward mass-censorship online, particularly in developing countries. We’ve been seeing more localised disruptions, and COST is now able to estimate the impact of sub-national shutdowns — a powerful approach that highlights the economic impact to a local community.

We have also seen more precisely timed shutdowns, intended to evade detection and reporting. For these reasons, COST works best when there is hard technical evidence of an internet disruption. Hence, it works great in tandem with real-time monitoring data from the NetBlocks internet observatory, which uses new techniques to accurately track such incidents.

In addition, research shows little evidence that cutting off communications provides relief in these situations, but it has been shown again and again that shutdowns do impact emergency first-response, healthcare and the provision of critical service. This is in addition to their severe impact on the fundamental rights of free expression, free assembly and free association.

Index: What are the worst and best countries for internet freedom and why?

Toker: Pakistan and India face systematic disruptions at massive scale, and the problem is also endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. There are also frequent disruptions in the Middle East, and a new trend emerging of shutdowns in Central America.

Index: When was the NetBlocks group created?

Toker: The idea for NetBlocks came about in 2015 and was recognisable in its current form by 2016. We entered the spotlight in 2017 after the first two modules of the internet observatory was launched. Meanwhile, The Index on Censorship Award helped us focus at a critical moment in time with a backdrop of contested elections, overbearing corporations, and the breakdown of online trust. In a time of rapid change the fellowship gave us a way to channel creative energy into a force for good.

Index: Why was the NetBlocks group created?

Toker: NetBlocks exists to meet the overwhelming need and demand for rights-based technology in support of free expression and access to knowledge. The goal is to go beyond research into prototyping, implementation and deployment of completely new mechanisms that might be able in future to protect and extend our fundamental rights. Internet-scale measurement, data-driven policy and advocacy, rights-based internet protocol design, machine learning to uncover violations of fundamental rights: these are some of the new frontiers. I’m sure there will be more.

There are competent civil society technology programmes out there today, but why not shake things up and put the tech at the forefront of the mission? Journalism, writing, the creative arts now exist largely in digital spaces, more vulnerable than at any time in our history. We need to not only understand those spaces, but to master them if we’re to stand a chance defending free thought for the next generation.[/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1544461258021-a4fe0eae-9690-2″ taxonomies=”9034″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

#IndexAwards2017: Turkey Blocks defends digital freedom

28 Jul 17 | Awards, Fellowship, Fellowship 2017, News and features, Turkey

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”89666″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Digital Activism award-winner Turkey Blocks continues to monitor internet freedom in Turkey. Since the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, Turkey Blocks has expanded its use of NetBlocks, a programme which they use to track internet freedom and the flow of information online, as well as studying the impact of censorship.

Established in 2015, Turkey Blocks has served as a platform to monitor and report internet shutdowns using an open source tool it developed, which has been adopted by other organisations. With this tool, it has exposed 14 instances of mass-censorship.

Beyond monitoring internet freedom, Turkey Blocks has been campaigning using the information it gathered. According to founder Alp Toker, “We’ve put the spotlight on compliance by western corporations – elective censorship, withholding of content and geoblocking – particularly as it affects vulnerable communities in Turkey.” Staff have also been analysing the financial impacts of mass-censorship incidents. “Increasingly we find that economic criteria can succeed where human rights arguments are ignored,” Toker said.

Turkey Blocks is campaigning to make the internet more accessible from the policy side too, by gaining representation in bodies that define internet standards to “…ensure that human rights considerations are built into core infrastructure”, Toker told Index.

“The Freedom of Expression Award came at a time when Turkey faced unprecedented challenges to civil liberties and human rights. The recognition draws attention to our struggle to defend the online spaces citizens need to think freely and speak out,” Toker said. Index has connected Turkey Blocks with other human rights groups and communities that share similar goals of internet freedom.

Toker highlighted the Turkish government’s blocking of Wikipedia as a pressing concern for digital freedom in the country. Governments are unable to block individual pages, and on 29 April Turkey Blocks reported a full block of Wikipedia, which is ongoing. Toker calls this block “the ultimate act of digital self-harm…Turkish citizens are no longer able to edit articles with their own worldview; instead, they are left to watch from a distance as the international community picks up editorial control of Turkey’s history, culture and politics, defining the geopolitical narrative today and for generations to come.”

Moving forward, Turkey Blocks will work at using their measurement systems to empower ordinary citizens and independent media. “Our recent work has focused on bridging the terminology and requirements of the media freedom community with capabilities and expertise in the information security space,” Toker said.

“We’ve found that the mere act of systematic observation and record-keeping can discourage mass-censorship,” Toker told Index, so the team is working on scaling up to cover a wider geographic area, as well as pinpointing small disruptions.

From travelling and speaking at conferences, Toker emphasized that Turkey’s internet regulations are not that different from the rest of the world. “Our message on the international track is that the media freedom community needs to move faster to keep pace with innovation; it will be difficult, after all, to reclaim those spaces and win back those rights if we let go of them now.” He is adamant that digital rights are essential to other human rights, “Digital rights can seem abstract, even distant, in the context of Turkey’s national state of emergency, with ever-tightening restrictions around journalism and civil society. Yet none of those conversations can take place without a free and open internet. It’s important now, more than ever, to keep watch and to keep calling for more digital transparency and accountability from the authorities.

Additional reporting by Margaret Flynn Sapia[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1503400925088-42244ba1-c62c-10″ taxonomies=”9034″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Turkey’s post-referendum freedom of expression

21 Apr 17 | Event Reports, News and features, Turkey

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Alp Toker of the 2017 Freedom of Expression Digital Activism Award-winning Turkey Blocks and Index on Censorship head of advocacy, Melody Patry. (Photo: Centre for Turkey Studies)

The Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) and Index on Censorship held a public forum at the House of Commons on Thursday 20 April 2017 to discuss the impact of the recent Turkish referendum as part of the 2017 Freedom of Expression Awards.

The referendum held on 16 April 2017 saw President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secure 51.3% of the vote to obtain sweeping presidential powers.

Chaired by former PEN International director Sara Whyatt, the debate focused on Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies and what the outcome of the referendum now means for freedom of expression in the European nation. The panel included Guney Yildiz, special adviser to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Alp Toker, founder of internet shutdown monitoring organisation Turkey Blocks, winner of the 2017 Freedom of Expression Digital Activism Award, and Index on Censorship’s head of advocacy, Melody Patry.

In his presentation, Yildiz took a broad stance in his observations on the referendum outcome.

The special adviser opposed the view that Turkey’s referendum primarily concerned Erdogan and his drive for increased powers. He claimed that “the movement towards a presidential system was already underway even before the referendum”.

“Something even more important is going on in Turkey, it’s a massive restructuring of the state and it goes beyond Erdogan,” the select committee adviser said.

Yildiz also argued that it was wrong for Turkey to be described as a “polarised society”, or to deem President Erdogan a “polarising figure” following the referendum results. He described Turkey as a “multi-polar country” with a “fragmented opposition” who were already divided among themselves over a host of other issues, divisions which they were unlikely to overcome.  

“The proposition that this referendum is the beginning of the end of President Erdogan, in my opinion, is mistaken,” Yildiz said.

Yildiz went on to discuss the impact of the referendum on the Kurdish population, foreign policy and the future of Turkey.

The special adviser concluded: “Winning the presidency is a huge step, but it doesn’t mean that Erdogan is in any lack of challenges. I would say that these challenges are coming mostly from regional tensions, the Turkish economy and other structural changes rather than the Turkish opposition.”

Index’s head of advocacy Melody Patry spoke on the implications of the Turkish referendum on freedom of expression.

Patry explained that before the coup attempt in July 2016, Turkey was “not quite what we’d call a safe haven for free speech”. However, the onset of the coup accelerated the pace and widened the scope of the crackdown on both media freedom and freedom of expression more generally, with the government resorting to methods of intimidation. “We are now talking about not just thousands, but tens of thousands of academics, journalists, students having lost their jobs or being fired or detained,” Patry expressed.

Index’s head of advocacy also highlighted that, since July of this year, 150 journalists have been jailed and 159 media outlets closed in Turkey. These are only the cases that have been recorded due to the difficulties surrounding the monitoring of attacks on the press. “Because it is difficult to monitor, it is also difficult to hold Turkish government to account.”

Before the coup attempt, many journalists were arrested for crimes relating to defamation and terrorism. “These kinds of charges are all the more concerning at a time when after the referendum, Erdogan is talking about reestablishing the death penalty,” said Patry. “We know that being associated with terror and terrorism could potentially put a target on the back or the forehead for the death penalty.”

In presenting his views on the referendum, Turkish-British technologist Alp Toker began by looking at the positives arising from the election. “A huge turnout means huge engagement; people are interested in voting, they are engaged with the political process,” he said.

In contrast to the stance adopted by Yildiz, Toker felt that Turkey had indeed become more polarised. However, the technologist made it clear that this was not a conclusion that should be reached through opinion, but through independent observation — something which Turkey currently lacked. “We’re missing out on something which you might call truth,” he said.

When turning to the work of his organisation Turkey Blocks, which was used to monitor the internet during the election weekend, Toker confirmed that no incidents of mass scale internet shutdowns were identified. This, however, did not equate to the “all clear” for media freedom and security in Turkey. “In fact, some could interpret it as the opposite,” the technologist said. “One of the opinions I heard is that they [Turkish government] don’t feel the need to control the internet because it has other means of controlling opinions.”

In drawing to a close, Toker argued that a better understanding of what kind of freedom was expected in Turkey needed to be established before progress could be made. The technologist said that this was “not a problem to be fixed from the outside” and that a “multi-pronged approach” would need to be adopted in order to solve it. “It’s not going to help if we continue this post-election polarisation,” he concluded. [/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obmYZsDBu6s”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Digital Activism 2017

20 Apr 17 | Awards

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTqbstpyaFU”][vc_column_text]In a country marked by increasing authoritarianism, a strident crackdown on press and social media as well as numerous human rights violations, Turkish-British technologist Alp Toker brought together a small team to investigate internet restrictions. Using Raspberry Pi technology they built an open source tool able to reliably monitor and report both internet shut downs and power blackouts in real time. Using their tool, Turkey Blocks have since broken news of 14 mass-censorship incidents during several politically significant events in 2016. The tool has proved so successful that it has begun to be implemented elsewhere globally.

“Our alerts, issued within minutes of detection, have helped Turkish citizens to stay online when shutdowns get implemented and provided the media with enough confidence to report assertively on digital censorship in Turkey.” — Alp Toker[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][awards_fellows years=”2017″][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1493136032339-02826cc3-edba-5″ taxonomies=”9034″][/vc_column][/vc_row]