[ooni-talk] [Report] Tanzania: Surge in online LGBTIQ censorship and other targeted blocks

[Maria Xynou]

Hi friends,

Thanks to community member Tori Francis, we're excited to share that our
research *report documenting the blocking of LGBTIQ websites in Tanzania*
is now available in *Swahili*:
https://ooni.org/sw/post/2024-tanzania-lgbtiq-censorship-and-other-targeted-blocks/

Please help spread the word:
https://x.com/OpenObservatory/status/1803428564865253708,
https://mastodon.social/@ooni/112643675290107194

Thanks,

Maria.

On Thu, Apr 11, 2024 at 2:23 PM Maria Xynou <maria at openobservatory.org>
wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Today OONI published a new research report: "*Tanzania: Surge in online
> LGBTIQ censorship and other targeted blocks*".
>
> Read the report here:
> https://ooni.org/post/2024-tanzania-lgbtiq-censorship-and-other-targeted-blocks/
>
> As part of this report, we analyzed OONI data collected from Tanzania over
> the last year, between 1st January 2023 to 31st January 2024.
>
> Our analysis of OONI data collected from Tanzania shows:
>
> 1) *Blocking of many LGBTIQ websites*, including:
> * LGBTIQ social networks (such as Grindr)
> * LGBTIQ rights sites (such as OutRight International and ILGA)
> * LGBTIQ news and culture sites (such as Queerty)
> * LGBTIQ suicide prevention site (The Trevor Project)
>
> 2) *Blocking of online dating websites* (such as Tinder and OKCupid)
>
> 3) *Blocking of specific websites that defend human rights through grants
> and petitions* (Change.org, Global Fund for Women, GlobalGiving, Open
> Society Foundations)
>
> 4) *Blocking of specific social networking sites* (Clubhouse and 4chan)
>
> 5) *Blocking of a specific VPN* (ProtonVPN)
>
> Our analysis reveals the *extensive blocking of LGBTIQ sites*, which
> correlates with the escalating discrimination and crackdown on LGBTIQ
> communities in Tanzania in recent years.
>
> Many other blocks identified as part of this study appear to be targeted,
> as they involve very specific websites, while other sites from the same
> categories (e.g. social media, human rights) were found accessible. For
> example, access to the Global Fund for Women website was found blocked in
> Tanzania, while Amnesty International's website was found accessible.
>
> Meanwhile, Tanzania recently started requiring users to report their use
> of VPNs. Out of tested VPNs, we only found *ProtonVPN blocked* in
> Tanzania during the analysis period.
>
> We encourage researchers to explore whether the new VPN reporting
> requirement results in reduced VPN use in Tanzania, as well as its impact
> on LGBTIQ communities and other human rights movements in Tanzania.
>
> Overall, the results of our analysis show that most ISPs in Tanzania
> appear to implement blocks by means of *TLS interference*, specifically
> by timing out the session after the ClientHello message during the TLS
> handshake. As the timing of the blocks and the types of URLs blocked are
> (mostly) consistent across (tested) networks, ISPs in Tanzania likely
> implement blocks in a coordinated manner (possibly through the use of Deep
> Packet Inspection technology).
>
> Learn more through our report:
> https://ooni.org/post/2024-tanzania-lgbtiq-censorship-and-other-targeted-blocks/
>
> We thank OONI Probe (https://ooni.org/install/) users in Tanzania for
> contributing measurements, supporting this study.
>
> You can monitor internet censorship in Tanzania (and around the world)
> through real-time OONI data:
> https://explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat?probe_cc=TZ&since=2024-03-12&until=2024-04-12&time_grain=day&axis_x=measurement_start_day&test_name=web_connectivity
>
> Thanks,
>
> Maria.
>
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