Internet censorship in Syria

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v t e

Internet censorship in Syria is extensive; with numerous websites and online platforms being banned for political reasons. Internet usage is authorized only through state-run servers and people accessing through other means are arrested.^[1][2] Filtering and blocking was found to be pervasive in the political and Internet tools areas, and selective in the social and conflict/security areas by the OpenNet Initiative in August 2009.^[2]

After the mass protests of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the government of Bashar al-Assad has intensified cyber-surveillace measures and internet blockades across Syria.^[3] Internet connectivity between Syria and the outside world shut down in late November 2011,^[4] and again in early May 2013.^[5] Syria is one of the five countries on the Reporters Without Borders organization's March 2013 list of "State Enemies of the Internet".^[6] Syria's Internet was cut off more than ten times in 2013, and again in March 2014.^[7][8]

Access to online information in Syria is tightly controlled by cyber surveillance facilities affiliated with the Assad government.^[9] As of 2021, large amount of websites are blocked, including Wikipedia. While it is possible for users to bypass blocks through proxy apps, Syrian cyber forces use tracking software to identify the IP addresses of such users.^[10]

Overview

Syria has been on Reporters Without Borders' Enemy of the Internet list since 2006 when the list was established.^[11] In 2009, the committee to Protect Journalists named Syria number three in a list of the ten worst countries in which to be a blogger, given the arrests, harassment, and restrictions which online writers in Syria faced.^[12] In May 2012 the committee to Protect Journalists named Syria the third most censored country in the world, saying:^[13]

In its campaign to silence media coverage, the government disabled mobile phones, landlines, electricity, and the Internet. Authorities have routinely extracted passwords of social media sites from journalists through beatings and torture. The pro-government online group the Syrian Electronic Army has frequently hacked websites to post pro-regime material, and the government has been implicated in malware attacks targeted at those reporting on the crisis.

In addition to filtering a wide range of Web content, the Syrian government monitors Internet use very closely and has detained citizens "for expressing their opinions or reporting information online." Vague and broadly worded laws invite government abuse and have prompted Internet users to engage in self-censorship to avoid the state's ambiguous grounds for arrest.^[2][14]

The transfer of online information in Syria is tightly controlled by cyber infrastructure facilities affiliated with the

After winning the 2007 presidential election in Syria with 99.82% of the declared votes, Bashar al-Assad implemented numerous measures that further intensified political and cultural repression.^[16] Numerous journalists were arrested and independent press centres were shut down. Syrian government also intensifed its censorship of the Internet; banning access to more than 200 websites, including sites such as Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Spotify, Google Play, LinkedIn, DeviantArt, PayPal, Netflix, Scratch, etc. Internet centres were allowed to operate only after the prior authorization of Syrian surveillance agencies. In 2007, the Syrian government enacted a law that forced Internet cafes to keep records of all online comments posted by users in chat forums, as well as their browsing habits. Several individuals who used internet cafes were arrested and reports emerged of the existence of specialized prison centres that detained individuals accused of "internet crimes".^[17][18]

In August 2007 YouTube was blocked after videos circulated denouncing the crackdown on the Kurd minority.^[19][20]

In November 2007 the Syrian government blocked Facebook, explaining that the website promoted attacks on authorities. The Facebook ban, like the ban of most websites, was not entirely effective and many people were able to maintain access using open proxies or other circumvention techniques.^[21][22]

From 30 April 2008 to the present (23 October 2013) the Arabic Wikipedia has been blocked.^[23][24] Syrian journalist Waed al-Mahna, an activist for archaeological preservation, was sentenced imprisonment via absentia in 2008 over an online article that criticized Syrian Ministry of Culture's policy to destroy a heritage site in Old Damascus.^[25]

Early 2010s

In February 2011 Syria stopped filtering YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.^[19][20]

Early in the Syrian civil war on 3 June 2011 the government shut down the country's Internet network. Although fully restored the following day, the country's 3G, DSL and dial-up were disconnected the same day massive protests and marches were being organized throughout the country to call for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad and for "Children's Friday", to honor children who had died during the uprisings.^[26]

On 26 July 2011 the website the-syrian.com, a site dedicated to "granting freedom of speech to everyone, whether against or with the regime",

In June 2012 the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reported that pro-Syrian-government malware campaigns have increased in frequency and sophistication and that a new Trojan distributed as a .pif file via Skype targets Syrian activists. The malware gives an attacker the ability to execute arbitrary code on the infected computer. Evidence suggests that this campaign is being carried out by the same pro-Syrian-government hackers responsible for previous attacks. The new Trojan is one in a series used to attack Syrian opposition activists that includes several Trojans, one disguised as a Skype encryption tool, which covertly install spying software onto the infected computer, as well as a multitude of phishing attacks which steal YouTube and Facebook login credentials.^[32][33][34]

On July 19, 2012, Internet access from Syria traveling via the state carrier

Syria is one of the five countries on the Reporters Without Borders organization's March 2013 list of "State Enemies of the Internet", countries ruled by governments that perpetrate pervasive surveillance of news providers, resulting in harsh restrictions on access to information and personal lives. Assad government's cyberforces engage in several social engineering techniques and online surveillance measures such as phishing, internet blackouts, malware attacks, interception of Skype calls, etc.^[41] Syria's Internet was cut off more than ten times in 2013, and again in March 2014.^[7][8]

Syrian Electronic Army (SEA)

The Syrian Electronic Army, also known as the Syrian Electronic Soldiers, is a collection of pro-government computer hackers aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) is the first public, virtual army in the Arab world to openly launch cyber attacks on its opponents,^[42] though the precise nature of its relationship with the Syrian government is debated.^[43]

The SEA claims responsibility for defacing or otherwise compromising hundreds of websites that it contends spread news hostile to the Syrian government. These include news websites such as

The group reportedly uses phishing tactics to gain sufficient information to compromise accounts.^[47][48] In the first week of May 2013, the Twitter account of The Onion was compromised by the SEA, after a phishing attack targeting The Onion employees led to its account being compromised.^[49]

In addition to the high-profile defacement and attacks on public targets, the SEA also carries out surveillance to discover the identities and location of Syrian rebels. This electronic monitoring also reportedly extends to foreign aid workers.^[43]

See also

• Media of Syria
• Syrian Free Press

References