[tor-project] OONI Monthly Report: September 2022

[Maria Xynou]

Hello,

OONI's September 2022 status report is shared below.

*# OONI Monthly Report: September 2022*

Throughout September 2022, the OONI team worked on the following sprints:

* Sprint 73 (1st-11th September 2022)
* Sprint 74 (12th-25th September 2022)
* Sprint 75 (26th-30th September 2022)

Our work can be tracked through the various OONI GitHub repositories:
https://github.com/ooni

Highlights are shared in this report below.

*## Published report on new censorship events in Iran*

On 25th September 2022, we published a new research report documenting the
latest censorship events in Iran amid the ongoing protests.

Read the report here:
https://ooni.org/post/2022-iran-blocks-social-media-mahsa-amini-protests/

In this report, we share OONI network measurement findings from Iran on the
blocking of WhatsApp, Instagram, Linkedin, Skype, Google Play Store, Apple
App Store, and encrypted DNS (DNS over HTTPS). We also share IODA and
Cloudflare Radar data on mobile network outages.

On 27th September 2022, we published an updated version of the report
(“Network outages” section) including contributions from our partner, IODA:
https://ooni.org/post/2022-iran-blocks-social-media-mahsa-amini-protests/#network-outages

This report received press coverage from a data journalism piece by
Tagesspiegel (which also makes use of raw OONI data):
https://interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de/lab/internet-sperren-im-iran-blackouts-gegen-die-freiheit/

*## Published report on TikTok block in Azerbaijan and Armenia*

On 16th September 2022, in collaboration with Azerbaijan Internet Watch, we
published a new research report which shares OONI data on the blocking of
TikTok in Armenia and Azerbaijan during the border clashes.

Read our report here:
https://ooni.org/post/2022-azerbaijan-and-armenia-blocks-tiktok/

Overall, OONI data shows that Azerbaijan blocked TikTok by means of TLS
level interference, while Armenia implemented both DNS level blocks and TLS
level interference.

*## Report for Azerbaijan Internet Watch*

In support of our partner, Azerbaijan Internet Watch (
https://ooni.org/partners/azerbaijan-internet-watch/), we analyzed OONI
measurements collected from Azerbaijan between May 2022 to September 2022.
Based on this analysis, we produced a report with the key findings, which
Azerbaijan Internet Watch published on their website:
https://www.az-netwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-09-OONI-Report-for-Azerbaijan-Internet-Watch.pdf

*## OONI Probe Mobile*

During September 2022, we made progress on implementing a functionality
that enables OONI Probe Mobile users to view all logs (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/516,
https://github.com/ooni/probe-ios/pull/499).

This change stems from user requests. While OONI Probe already implements
some form of logging, the app is not able to collect logs generated during
the engine bootstrap. Crucially, these logs are key to debug and understand
cases in which OONI services are blocked. The new design, instead, allows
us to observe the engine bootstrap logs. Additionally, we added support for
sharing the logs with OONI developers in an easier way, using the operating
systems’ share functionality.

We also made progress in implementing new Experimental settings under the
Test Options settings of the OONI Probe apps (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-android/pull/543,
https://github.com/ooni/probe-ios/pull/501). This will enable OONI Probe
users to enable or disable experimental tests (
https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2266). As these settings would apply
to both manual and automated runs, we added relevant copy for clarification
(https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2268). This work addresses community
feedback that the OONI Probe Experimental card includes long-running tests
which users may want to have disabled as part of automated testing. We are
currently performing QA of these new mobile functionalities and we are
confident we will be able to include them in the next OONI Probe mobile
releases.

As part of our work on using Flutter for a shared codebase between the OONI
Probe mobile and desktop apps, we wrote an internal guide to document the
migration steps for all OONI Probe apps from Native Platforms to Flutter
Application using OONI Test Descriptors.
Through this document, we aim to capture all components of the system that
need to be changed in the process in order to attain complete migration of
Android, iOS and Desktop applications to the respective Flutter versions.

*## OONI Run*

We added support to miniooni for running an OONI Run v2 descriptor saved on
the local disk, as opposed to fetching it from a remote URL:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/966

*## OONI Probe Desktop*

We released OONI Probe Desktop 3.8.0:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-desktop/releases/tag/v3.8.0

This release uses the latest version of OONI Probe CLI and improvements to
the Experimental card.

*## OONI Probe localization*

Thanks to the Localization Lab community, new OONI Probe strings were
translated into the following languages: Farsi, Russian, Chinese, Turkish,
Spanish, French, and Greek (https://explore.transifex.com/otf/ooniprobe/).

*## Updated localization guidelines*

We worked towards updating the OONI Probe localization guidelines, and
writing new localization guidelines for OONI Explorer. This work is
documented through the following pull request:
https://github.com/ooni/translations/pull/26

The new localization guidelines are available through the following links:
* OONI Probe localization guidelines:
https://github.com/ooni/translations/blob/master/Guidelines%20for%20OONI%20Probe.md
* OONI Explorer localization guidelines:
https://github.com/ooni/translations/blob/master/Guidelines%20for%20OONI%20Explorer.md

*## Published updated versions of the OONI Probe user guides*

In September 2022, we published updated versions (with extensive edits, and
many new screenshots and steps) of the OONI Probe user guides:

* User Guide for OONI Probe Mobile:
https://ooni.org/support/ooni-probe-mobile
* User Guide for OONI Probe Desktop:
https://ooni.org/support/ooni-probe-desktop

The specific updates can be viewed through this pull request:
https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1202

Now both the OONI Probe Mobile and Desktop user guides cover all the latest
features up until version 3.7.0.

We subsequently further edited the OONI Probe Mobile (
https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1239) and Desktop (
https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1240) user guides to clarify settings
related to automated testing.

*## Localizing the OONI Probe user guides*

To enable community members around the world to use OONI Probe, we
coordinated with the Localization Lab (https://www.localizationlab.org/) on
creating new Transifex projects for the translation of the OONI Probe user
guides.

Community members can now localize the OONI Probe user guides via the
following Transifex projects:
* OONI Probe Mobile User Guide:
https://www.transifex.com/otf/ooni-probe-mobile-user-guide/
* OONI Probe Desktop User Guide:
https://www.transifex.com/otf/ooni-probe-desktop-user-guide/

*## Updated the OONI Data Policy*

We made a minor update to OONI’s Data Policy (
https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1221), reiterating our use of Sentry
in the "Third party services" section.

The updated version of OONI’s Data Policy is available here:
https://ooni.org/about/data-policy



*## Expanding censorship measurement methodologies### uTLS-light*

We wrote a prototype fork (“uTLS-light”) of Golang’s crypto/tls library
that is able to parrot the ClientHello of Chrome browser. This prototype is
specifically designed to make merging from upstream as simple and as
straightforward as possible. The main drawback of this prototype is that,
compared to similar efforts such as uTLS, it is not configurable, as users
of uTLS-light always use the Chrome browser’s configuration (which is what
we need as OONI to perform measurements). Our work on developing uTLS-light
is available here: https://github.com/hellais/utls-light

*### Improving Web Connectivity experiment*

We continued testing Web Connectivity v0.5 with support from users in our
community. Based on testing and community feedback, we made a series of
improvements:

* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/933
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/935
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/943
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/948
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/951
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/952
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/953
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/957
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/958
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/959
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/960
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/961
* https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/965

The main focus of these changes was to improve the data quality and
correctly flag edge cases to minimize false positives and detect cases
where websites are down.

In the meanwhile, we spent time testing the test helper improvements to
support Web Connectivity v0.5. We performed A/B testing for a few days and
then decided to switch all users to the new test helper version.

We also improved our measurement scrubbing procedure, by extending the
scrubbing to all the fields of a measurement, as opposed to limiting it to
the test keys (https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/956). All this work
culminated in the release of OONI Probe CLI v3.16.3:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/releases/tag/v3.16.3

*### Experiments developed by Google Summer of Code (GSoC) student*

We merged the TLS middlebox experiment (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/817) and port filtering experiment (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/pull/891) contributed by Mehul Gulati, as
part of his Google Summer of Code (GSoC) with OONI. We wrapped up the GSoC
with a comprehensive recap of the work that was done in the following
ticket: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2272

*## OONI Explorer*

In September 2022, we completed most development work for the new
domain-centric pages of OONI Explorer (
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/762). We refactored the OONI Explorer
Search tool to move measurement requests to the client side (
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/799). We continued to make progress
towards building the user feedback reporting system, and enabling
localization on OONI Explorer. We also replaced Babel with SWC (
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/pull/804), fixed builds, and reviewed pull
requests.

*## OONI backend*

In September 2022, we worked on the following main backend activities:
* Improvements to API rate limiting (https://github.com/ooni/api/pull/307);
* Added support for filtering by IP address in the aggregation API (
https://github.com/ooni/api/pull/308);
* Added database query prioritization in the API (
https://github.com/ooni/api/pull/304) and fastpath (
https://github.com/ooni/pipeline/pull/397);
* Improved upon the backend prototype for the user feedback reporting
system (https://github.com/ooni/api/pull/302);
* Added bot mitigations in the API using robots.txt;
* Added API metrics and dashboards;
* Investigated test failures;
* Implemented an initial scoring table for OpenVPN and obfs4 (
https://github.com/ooni/pipeline/pull/399).

*## Published user guide for Test Lists Editor*

In September 2022, we published a user guide for our new Test Lists Editor (
https://test-lists.ooni.org/).

Our user guide is available here: https://ooni.org/support/test-lists-editor

This user guide provides step-by-step instructions (with screenshots) on
how to use our new Test Lists Editor for contributing to the lists of
websites tested by OONI Probe users around the world.

*## Published test list guide for GitHub users*

Previously, we used to include instructions for updating the Citizen Lab
test lists (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/tree/master/lists) via
GitHub in our general test lists documentation.

In September 2022, we created a separate guide for GitHub users with
updated instructions.

Our user guide for updating test lists via GitHub is available here:
https://ooni.org/support/github-test-lists

*## Published updated test list documentation*

We updated our general test list documentation:
https://ooni.org/get-involved/contribute-test-lists

This documentation explains what test lists are, why and how to contribute
to test lists (while linking to more detailed guides), and how to approach
test list research.

*## Test list updates*

In September 2022, we contributed updates to the following test lists:

* Global (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1107,
https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1128;
https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1114);
* Azerbaijan (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1111).

We reviewed test list updates provided by Netalitica researchers and, on
their behalf, opened pull requests for the following test lists:

* Hong Kong (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1115);
* Poland (https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1116).

We opened a pull request with updates to the test list for Kyrgyzstan,
provided by the School of Peacemaking (
https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1124).

We also reviewed and merged multiple pull requests (
https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed)
submitted by community members (via both GitHub and our new Test Lists
Editor).

*## Creating a new OONI Outreach Kit*

To better meet community needs (particularly around OONI community
engagement), we worked towards creating multiple new materials and
resources that will eventually get published as part of a new OONI Outreach
Kit. These resources include OONI-related brochures, fact sheets, workshop
slides, and screencasts.

*## Launch of Advocacy Assembly OONI training course*

On 30th September 2022, Small Media’s Advocacy Assembly launched an online
OONI training course (
https://advocacyassembly.org/en/courses/63/#/chapter/1/lesson/1). We had
previously collaborated with Advocacy Assembly on creating the content of
the OONI training course, while they provided amazing support for
everything related to editing, designing, and translating the course.

Prior to the launch, Advocacy Assembly published a blog post which includes
an interview with the OONI team about the course:
https://advocacyassembly.org/en/news/228/

*## Improving OONI’s Code of Conduct*

Based on feedback from community meetings and discussions, we re-wrote
OONI’s Code of Conduct (in collaboration with OONI’s new Incident Response
Committee).

The updated version of OONI’s Code of Conduct is available here:
https://deploy-preview-1245--ooni.netlify.app/get-involved/code-of-conduct/

We shared the updated version with community members during the September
2022 OONI Community Meeting, with the goal of soliciting further community
review and feedback. Based on the latest community feedback, we plan to
make further improvements to the Code of Conduct before it is published.

*## Ford Foundation Retreat*

Between 19th-22nd September 2022, OONI’s Maria attended the Ford Foundation
Retreat in Atlanta, USA. As part of her participation at the retreat, Maria
facilitated a session with the goal of collecting feedback on how internet
measurement projects can better meet advocacy needs.



*## Community activities### OONI hackathon at DEMHACK 2022*

On 24th and 25th September 2022, OONI’s Elizaveta organized an OONI
hackathon as part of Roskomsvoboda’s DEMHACK 2022 hackathon (
https://demhack.ru/) in Russia.

Hackathon participants were invited to work on the following OONI hackathon
challenges (https://demhack.ru/tasks):
* Updating the lists of websites (“test lists”) measured for censorship;
* Developing a tool for the automatic clean-up of test lists (e.g. removing
expired domains);
* Analyzing OONI data to investigate internet censorship.

As part of the hackathon, OONI’s Maria provided a live demo on using OONI’s
Measurement Aggregation Toolkit (https://explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat),
encouraging participants to use the tool as a starting point for further
analyzing OONI data.

*### OONI workshops at FIFAfrica 2022*

Between 26th-29th September 2022, OONI’s Arturo traveled to Lusaka, Zambia,
to participate in the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) 2022
conference organized by CIPESA – one of Africa’s largest digital rights
events (https://cipesa.org/fifafrica/).

As part of his participation (https://cipesa.org/fifafrica/agenda/), Arturo:
* Facilitated an OONI workshop (“Investigating Internet censorship in
Africa through OONI tools and open data”);
* Co-facilitated a workshop with Access Now (“Strengthening Advocacy to
Fight Internet Shutdowns in Africa”).

*### OONI Community Meeting*

On 27th September 2022, we hosted the monthly OONI Community Meeting on our
Slack channel (https://slack.ooni.org/), during which we discussed the
following topics:

1) Improving OONI’s Code of Conduct: Request for community feedback (based
on the updated version)

2) Reconsidering test list policies around expired or parked domains

*## Userbase*

In September 2022, 60,831,677 OONI Probe measurements were collected from
2,765 AS networks in 170 countries around the world.

This information can also be found through our measurement stats on OONI
Explorer (see chart on “monthly coverage worldwide”):
https://explorer.ooni.org/

~ OONI team.
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