Internet censorship circumvention

Internet censorship circumvention is the use of various methods and tools by technically skilled users to bypass Internet censorship—the legal control or suppression of access to, publication of, or viewing of content on the Internet. Commonly used software tools include Lantern and Psiphon, which can bypass multiple types of restrictions. Some methods evade less sophisticated blocking tools by using alternate Domain Name System (DNS) servers, false IP addresses, or address lookup systems. However, such methods become ineffective if censors block not only the DNS but also the IP addresses of restricted domains, thereby rendering a potential bypass ineffective. Other tools can tunnel the network traffic to proxy servers in jurisdictions that don't have censorship. Through pluggable transports, traffic obscuration, website mirrors, or archive sites, users can access copies of websites even in areas with Internet censorship.

An "arms race" (or competition) has developed between censors and developers of circumvention software. This competition leads to two types of innovation: more sophisticated blocking techniques by censors, and less detectable tools by circumvention developers. While estimates of user adoption for circumvention tools vary, it is widely accepted that tens of millions of people use them each month. Barriers to adoption include usability issues; difficulty in finding reliable information on circumvention; limited motivation to access censored content; and risks from breaking the law.

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