Title: Why do some countries censor the internet?
Headings: Why do some countries censor the internet?
Why do some countries censor the internet?
The current technological movement gives the impression that the internet is unrestrained: read on to find out about seven countries enforcing censorship of the internet
Saudi Arabia
Ethiopia
Eritrea
China
North Korea
Closer to home
What can be done about State censorship of the internet?

Content: By controlling the internet, ruling parties can quash dissident activity and monitor online communications. Governments are then able to extend a greater hold over what people say and do, and often, how they vote. With over four billion people now using the internet, the fact that accessing it has become more restricted would seem to be at odds with the figures. And yet, censorship remains on the rise. A report published last year by the independent watchdog Freedom House showed that internet freedom had been curtailed for the eighth year running, with an increasing number of governments tightening control over citizens’ data use. Saudi Arabia
All internet traffic into the country passes through a router controlled and monitored by the Ministry of the Interior, a department of the Saudi Arabian government responsible for maintaining a list of previously blocked websites. Over half a million websites have been placed on the list since the Law of Printing and Publication was passed by royal decree in 2003, which made posting anything that could be seen as an attempt to stir up public discord punishable by 5 years’ imprisonment. Ethiopia
Even though only a small percentage of the Ethiopian population has access to the internet, what little access the people do have has been closely monitored since the introduction of anti-terror legislation in 2009, which imposed huge restrictions against posting anything online that could be seen as critical of the government. In fact, two citizens have so far been convicted of online speech offences and handed down multi-year sentences. Eritrea
Eritrea has attracted a lot of attention in recent years for its treatment of journalists, after the country’s president imprisoned nearly two dozen without charge in 2014.