Resilience to Online Censorship
118 Citations•2020•
Margaret E. Roberts
It is described how authoritarian regimes have adapted their strategies of censorship to reduce both awareness of censorship and demand for uncensored information.
Abstract
<jats:p> To what extent are Internet users resilient to online censorship? When does censorship influence consumption of information and when does it create backlash? Drawing on a growing literature on Internet users’ reactions to censorship, I posit that awareness of censorship, incentives to seek out information, and resources to circumvent censorship are essential to resilience to censorship. I describe how authoritarian regimes have adapted their strategies of censorship to reduce both awareness of censorship and demand for uncensored information. </jats:p>