Internet Freedom: A Human Right
Internet freedom: The Internet has presented a new realm of opportunities for businesses, institutions, communities and human society as a whole. With the help of the internet, the world is now more connected than ever before. The invention of the World Wide Web was nothing short of a revolution. A human achievement that must be celebrated. The information age we will in now is filled with tremendous opportunities for the betterment of humankind.
Unfortunately, there are individuals, institutions, and powerful governments who view the internet as a bane of their existence. These entities consider the Internet as a menace that has given too much power to the common people. Hence, they impose restrictions on citizens who wish to access the web with guaranteed freedom.
Online Freedom: Right or a Privilege
In 2016, the UN officially declared access to the internet and online freedom of speech as fundamental human rights.
However, citizens residing in China, North Korea, and some other countries are denied this right on daily basis.
Many governments around the Globe have banned popular sites and apps to restrict the information they deem as seditious. In addition, the recent actions against Net Neutrality will definitely be harm people’s ability to freely access the web.
Online freedom in many ways, relates to the freedom of expression and freedom of information. Governments impose the restriction on the internet to clamp down on dissidents. Moreover, they manage the flow of data by censoring the internet.
Fight for the Open Internet
Battle of Internet Freedom should be fought on multiple fronts. The activism against the suppressors of digital rights should be accompanied by further advancements in tools that can circumvent cyber censorship.
Following some alternatives to bypass government restrictions:
1. Virtual Private Networks
As of now, the best hope we have of tackling government firewalls through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). VPNs have multiple benefits. They mask your IP address to stop other entities from tracking your identity. Furthermore, they allow you to access the internet with the utmost liberty.
They do this by establishing secure tunnels for your connection and encrypting your information. In simple words, VPNs make it extremely difficult for governments to track you. But as always, some VPNs are more proficient than others. Many VPN services overstate their capabilities and are unable to breach government-imposed firewalls. However, there are trusted VPN services such as NordVPN, which deliver on their promise. Still, I recommend that you put in some research before choosing an appropriate VPN.
You can read NordVPN review to get a better understanding of what this service provides. Regardless, VPNs are the best tool we have to ensure open internet for users from all around the globe.
2. Proxies
There are hundreds if not thousands of free proxy sites available on the web. These sites provide a quick and convenient way of unlocking restricted content. However, these sites are not as secure as VPNs and they are of little use against powerful firewalls.
3. Mirror Websites
In simple words, mirror websites are copies of the original websites. Most of them are designed to enhance the availability of the original site or reduce its traffic. These websites have the content as the websites they replicate. However, their URLs are different. A famous example of a mirror website is elgooG, also known as Google mirror. The site became popular in China as the actual search engine is banned in the country.
4. Tor
Another way to bypass digital censorship is by using the Tor network. Tor is a free software that enables anonymous browsing. With this software, internet users can protect their identity and surf the web freely. The popular Tor Browser is one of the widely used programs to access blocked websites. There are, however, limitations for Tor as it is often blocked by various websites.
Final Words
As the number of internet users increases rapidly, the issues related to online freedom will flare up to an unexpected degree. Many digital rights activists are becoming increasingly concern with the growing restrictions on the internet in different countries. Hence, the need of the hour is to raise as much awareness as possible regarding the importance of online freedom. It is also imperative to develop more tools to tackle sensors, throttles, and filters imposed by different governments.
Author Bio:
Ghulman Hussain is a writer who believes online privacy is a birthright and he is willing to debate anyone who thinks the contrary. He spends much of his time evaluating Virtual Private Networks for their security features. Otherwise, he is seen mostly binge-watching unfunny sitcoms.