This report describes our investigation into the global proliferation of Internet filtering systems manufactured by the Canadian company, Netsweeper Inc.

This section details the research questions that informed our study. We also outline in detail the methods that we adopted to identify Netsweeper installations worldwide, and those that we employed to reduce the findings to countries of interest. We also present high-level technical findings and observations.

This section examines the legal, regulatory, corporate social responsibility, and other public policy issues raised by our report’s findings. We focus on the responsibilities of Netsweeper, Inc. and the obligations of the Canadian government under international human rights law.

تقوم شركة فلترة محتوى انترنت كندية بحجب محتوى الانترنت خلال الصراع المسلح في اليمن بطلب من الجماعة المتمردة (الحوثيون) وذلك حسب تقرير جديد من مركز ستيزن لاب في جامعة تورونتو.

A Canadian Internet filtering company, Netsweeper, is blocking Internet content during armed conflict in Yemen following the dictates of the rebel group, the Houthis, according to a new report from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.

This report provides a detailed, mixed methods analysis of Information controls related to the Yemen armed conflict, with research commencing at the end of 2014 and continuing through October 20, 2015. The research confirms that Internet filtering products sold by the Canadian company Netsweeper have been installed on and are presently in operation in the state-owned and operated ISP YemenNet, the most utilized ISP in the country.

Cyber Steward Walid Al-Saqaf’s dissertation is featured in a piece by the Huffington Post. Al-Saqaf documents common themes in the repression of online content by different regimes during the Arab Spring.

Cyber Steward Network partner Walid Al-Saqaf writes about the recent launch of Yemen’s chapter of the Internet Society for Global Voices Advocacy.

This issue of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Cyber Watch covers issues such as blogger and netizen arrests, Internet and social media use, censorship and filtering, hacktivism, government control, and cyber warfare.