RightsCon Tunis 2019

This panel will provide an overview of how a global and open internet platform like Wikipedia can detect and respond to threats to access to information. Censorship of Wikipedia has been observed in twelve countries, preventing a large swath of the world population from accessing the free online encyclopedia. Wikipedia's global audience presents both an opportunity to track internet accessibility around the world, as well as a challenge to quickly identify and respond to censorship events that affect the platform. First, we will review the historical efforts to detect and understand censorship on Wikipedia. Second, we will identify some of the opportunities and challenges that an open platform faces when responding to censorship. Third, we will present and seek input on some possible ways to help everyday internet users learn about censorship and overcome obstacles to access. We present our tools and findings in this session with the hope of strengthening the relations between such projects and civil society groups working in the field of digital rights towards the common goal of making the Internet free and accessible for all.