[tor-project] OONI Monthly Report: August 2024

[Maria Xynou]

Hello,

This email shares OONI's monthly report for August 2024.

*# OONI Monthly Report: August 2024*

Throughout August 2024, the OONI team’s work can be tracked through the
various OONI GitHub repositories: https://github.com/ooni

Highlights are shared in this report below.

*## Published the OONI Outreach Kit in Arabic and Farsi*

In August 2024, we published the OONI Outreach Kit in:

* Arabic: https://ooni.org/ar/support/ooni-outreach-kit/
* Farsi: https://ooni.org/fa/support/ooni-outreach-kit/

Huge thanks to the translators for making the OONI Outreach Kit materials
available in Arabic and Farsi, supporting OONI community engagement efforts
in the Middle East! The OONI Outreach Kit is also available in English,
Russian, French, Spanish, and Swahili (
https://ooni.org/support/ooni-outreach-kit/).

*## Published report on the blocking of Instagram in Turkiye*

On 2nd August 2024, we published a short report on the blocking of
Instagram in Turkiye: https://explorer.ooni.org/findings/330022197701

This report shares relevant OONI data and an interpretation of the
measurement findings.

*## Research report on internet censorship in Kazakhstan*

In preparation for the upcoming publication of a research report on
internet censorship in Kazakhstan, we continued to review the findings and
edit the text accordingly in collaboration with our partner,  Internet
Freedom Kazakhstan (https://ooni.org/partners/ifkz). Notably, we translated
the whole research report in Russian so that we can publish it in both
English and Russian, reaching more audiences. We also coordinated with
designers to plan the upcoming design of the report in PDFs. We aim to
publish this research report in September 2024.

*## OONI Probe Mobile*

In August 2024, we released OONI Probe 3.8.9 for both Android (
https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2791) and iOS (
https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2792).

We also continued making progress on our multi-platform project.
Specifically, we identified the initial suite of features we will focus on
for our first internal build of the new application. We will use this
application for testing, further development and to ensure feature parity
with the old application.

We worked on several different features, and some highlights include:
* Implementing the dashboard:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/55
* Running tests: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/59
* Results lists: https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/42
* Implementing application settings:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues/50

The full list of completed issues can be found here:
https://github.com/ooni/probe-multiplatform/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aclosed+closed%3A2024-08

*## OONI Probe CLI*

In August 2024, we released OONI Probe CLI 3.23.0. The full changelog is
available here: https://github.com/ooni/probe-cli/releases/tag/v3.23.0

*## OONI Probe Desktop*

In August 2024, we released OONI Probe Desktop 3.9.7 (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-desktop/releases/tag/v3.9.7) and 3.9.8 (
https://github.com/ooni/probe-desktop/releases/tag/v3.9.8).

The latest release integrates the OONI Probe CLI 3.23.0 into OONI Probe
Desktop: https://github.com/ooni/probe/issues/2793

*## OONI Run*

As part of our work on creating the next generation version of OONI Run
(“OONI Run v2”), we continued our efforts with QA testing for the Android
version of the new OONI Probe app that will include both an improved UI and
support for new OONI Run links.

We addressed several bugs and UI improvements:
* We improved the layout of the test overview screen:
https://github.com/ooni/run/issues/186
* We fixed some issues with the updated tag not appearing properly:
https://github.com/ooni/run/issues/188

In preparation for the upcoming launch of OONI Run v2, we:
* Continued to test OONI Run v2 extensively;
* Finalized the copy;
* Wrote a blog post for the announcement of the OONI Run v2 launch (which
includes a detailed user guide);
* Updated the OONI Data Policy to account for changes introduced with OONI
Run v2 (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1601);
* Updated all documentation across our website to ensure the correct OONI
Run domain (https://github.com/ooni/ooni.org/pull/1602).

*## OONI Explorer*

In August 2024, we worked on revising the navigation bar for OONI Explorer:
https://github.com/ooni/explorer/issues/938

We wanted to do this because the current navigation bar is fairly crowded
and we will eventually need the ability to add more items to it in the near
future. We will launch this in the coming months.

*## OONI Backend*

We finished setting up integration tests for a framework to allow us to A/B
test our improved APIs more effectively:
https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/856

We updated the OONI Explorer Findings platform to use postgresql to store
findings, since our Clickhouse database is not backed up. This helps
improve the stability of this feature:
https://github.com/ooni/backend/issues/855

We also finished the core refactor of our measurements service, which
implements improved API principles ensuring ease-of-use and stability of
the API:  https://github.com/ooni/backend/pull/851

*## Automating censorship detection and characterization based on OONI
measurements*

In August 2024, several important improvements were landed inside of the
main branch of the OONI data pipeline v5.

Specifically, we worked towards releasing the OONI Pipeline v5.0.0-alpha.3 (
https://github.com/ooni/data/pull/81) which includes the following
improvements:
* Switched to threaded workers via co-routines;
* Removed unused commands;
* Removed unused and dead code;
* Added support for update assets from s3 instead of archive.org;
* Removed file based locking for asset updates;
* Added alter queries for buffer tables in DB migration helper;
* Fixed bug in database migration generation;
* Addressed issues related to setting workflow and schedule IDs to
facilitate re-running backfills;
* Properly set the transaction_id for more modern tests that support it
(eg. web_connectivity 0.5).

We then worked towards making a release candidate for OONI Pipeline v5. As
part of this, in order to empower our team to view the new observations, we
developed a simple web interface for viewing observations and plotting them
in charts: https://github.com/ooni/data/pull/83

We also started experimenting with a Bayesian network based approach to
analysis which is implemented as several notebooks inside of the following
pull request: https://github.com/ooni/data/pull/85

*## Hiring process for OONI Junior Backend Developer job opening*

As part of the hiring process for a new OONI Junior Backend Developer (
https://ooni.org/post/2024-job-opening-ooni-backend-developer/), we
continued to review incoming applications, track applications, follow-up
with applicants, and interview shortlisted candidates.

*## Test list updates*

We reviewed and merged updates to the test list for Myanmar:
https://github.com/citizenlab/test-lists/pull/1754

*## Updated Nepal report following the unblocking of TikTok*

We updated our previous report on the blocking of TikTok in Nepal to
include OONI data and information in relation to the unblocking of the
service: https://explorer.ooni.org/findings/112092297601



*## Rapid response### Blocking of Signal in Russia, Venezuela, and Pakistan*

In response to the blocking of the Signal Private Messenger app in Russia,
Venezuela, and Pakistan (which was blocked in all 3 countries in August
2024), we shared relevant OONI data and information on social media
channels: https://x.com/OpenObservatory/status/1828028323269611553

*### Blocking of Twitter/X in Tanzania*

In response to the blocking of Twitter/X in Tanzania, we shared relevant
OONI data and information on social media channels:
https://x.com/OpenObservatory/status/1829600571327914094



*## Citations### USENIX paper on measuring the Great Firewall’s web
censorship at scale*

In August 2024, researchers from the University of British Columbia,
University of Chicago, University of Toronto, Carnegie Mellon University,
SRI International and Stony Brook University wrote a paper (“GFWeb:
Measuring the Great Firewall’s Web Censorship at Scale”) which was
published by USENIX.

Their paper cites OONI quite extensively, and it’s available here:
https://www.usenix.org/system/files/usenixsecurity24-hoang.pdf

*### Global Voices article on Instagram block in Turkiye*

Global Voices published an article on the blocking of Instagram in Turkiye,
citing OONI data:
https://globalvoices.org/2024/08/02/turkey-blocks-access-to-instagram/

*### Report on Internet shutdowns in Tanzania*

Our partner, Zaina Foundation, published a report on internet shutdowns in
Tanzania, which is available here:
https://zainafoundationtz.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TZReport-on-Internet-Shutdown-Incident-Twitter.pdf

As part of their report, they cite OONI data (and include an OONI MAT
chart) on the blocking of Twitter/X in Tanzania.

*### RSF Resource for Journalists on OONI Probe and OONI Explorer*

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published an article about OONI Probe and
OONI Explorer as part of their resources for journalists:
https://safety.rsf.org/ooni-a-tool-to-check-whether-an-online-service-is-being-blocked/

*## Measurement coverage*

In August 2024, 60,819,022 OONI Probe measurements were collected from
3,238 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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