Censorship 2.0

Abstract

The remarkable rise of social media has created a dilemma for countries deter- mined to limit Internet content. With current technology, the standard methods of Internet filtering—blacklist and block—are not as effective at identifying and limiting content hosted via Web 2.0 applications, diminishing the impact of regu- latory action of this sort within the jurisdiction of states. 1 In recognition of this, public-private transnational cooperation and coercion has been expanding to close gaps in the enforcement of state-mandated online content restrictions. These hybrid forms of filtering occupy gray zones of technological, political, legal, eco- nomic, and social policymaking and are fraught with contradictions and tensions. A consequence of the internationalization of filtering is the growing demand for international solutions, many of which call for greater transparency where fil- tering occurs. However, the growth of social media amplifies the difficult balanc- ing of interests implicit in the technical filtering of online content, between the effectiveness of regulation, the legal specificity of regulation, and the transparency by which regulation is enacted.