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International Conference on e-Democracy

e-Democracy 2017: E-Democracy – Privacy-Preserving, Secure, Intelligent E-Government Services pp 136–149Cite as

Internet Censorship Capabilities in Cyprus: An Investigation of Online Gambling Blocklisting

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Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 792))

Abstract

This paper presents the initial findings of an open and collective effort towards a cross comparison study of web-content blocking regulations and practices, in different parts of Cyprus. Our analysis is based on network measurement data collected by volunteers in Cyprus, using a custom OONI probe and open DNS resolvers, from five residential ISPs; Callsat (AS 24672), Cablenet (AS 35432), Cyta (AS 6866), MTN (AS 15805) and Multimax (AS 197792). We were able to identify a number of unreported Internet censorship cases, non-transparently implemented blocking regulations, and collateral damage due to blocking of email delivery to the regulated domains by the National Betting Authority of the Republic of Cyprus. These results indicate the presence of at least two distinct regimes on the island.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Greg Andreou, observer, Costas Tsangarides, savvas, members of the Lefkoşa Hackerspace, and other anonymous contributors in Cyprus for running the measurement tests and their overall support. This project is an initiative of hack66/observatory [26], a Cyprus-based Internet observatory that aims to collect and analyze data, and routes of data, through Europe, Middle East and Africa in order to promote evidence-based policy making. It has been possible thanks to the long-running efforts of the OONI team.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

    Vasilis Ververis

  2. University College London, London, UK

    Marios Isaakidis

  3. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Chrystalleni Loizidou

  4. Hochschule für Telekommunikation, Leipzig, Germany

    Benjamin Fabian

  5. Universidade Estadual do Piauí, Teresina, Brazil

    Vasilis Ververis

Authors
  1. Vasilis Ververis
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  2. Marios Isaakidis
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  3. Chrystalleni Loizidou
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  4. Benjamin Fabian
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vasilis Ververis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Gjøvik, Norway

    Sokratis K. Katsikas

  2. Data Protection Authority, Athens, Greece

    Vasilios Zorkadis

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Ververis, V., Isaakidis, M., Loizidou, C., Fabian, B. (2017). Internet Censorship Capabilities in Cyprus: An Investigation of Online Gambling Blocklisting. In: Katsikas, S., Zorkadis, V. (eds) E-Democracy – Privacy-Preserving, Secure, Intelligent E-Government Services. e-Democracy 2017. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 792. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71117-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71117-1_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71116-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71117-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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