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Past Project

Internet Monitor

Internet Monitor's aim is to evaluate, describe, and summarize the means, mechanisms, and extent of Internet content controls and Internet activity around the world. The project helps researchers, advocates, policymakers, and user communities understand trends in Internet health and activity through research, analysis, and data visualization.

Internet Monitor has several components:

  • Internet Monitor’s AccessCheck allows users to test websites in over 50 countries to see whether they are available in real time. Test results include a thumbs up/down notification indicating whether the site is available, as well as a screenshot and more detailed data on status codes, timings, and any errors encountered. AccessCheck combines data from virtual private network endpoints, virtual private servers, and from measurements collected by the Information Controls Lab (ICLab) and by the Open Observatory of Network Interference’s (OONI) OONI Probe.
  • The Internet Monitor website is home to our research bulletin series and blog, which provide expert analysis on the state of the global Internet, focusing on notable events and trends in the digital space.
  • The Internet Monitor Dashboard offers users the opportunity to customize a collection of data visualization “widgets” according to their interests. The dashboard compiles and curates data from multiple sources, including primary data collected by the Berkman Klein Center and our partners, as well as relevant secondary data. Users can create individual boards that provide a real-time view of the state of the Internet across a variety of dimensions, enable easy comparisons across countries and data sources, and are easy to configure, edit, and share.

 


Our Work 36

News
Jun 12, 2019

Announcing AccessCheck

Track website accessibility around the world

A new tool to track website accessibility, worldwide, in real time

Aftenposten
Feb 5, 2019

Several countries turn off the internet when discontent smolders

An increasing number of countries are preventing citizens from reporting censurable conditions.

Publication
Jan 16, 2019

Internet Censorship and the Intraregional Geopolitical Conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa

How do adversarial relationships between states translate into Internet censorship practices?

Publication
Sep 5, 2018

Censorship and Collateral Damage

Analyzing the Telegram Ban in Iran

Analyzing the aftermath of the Telegram ban in Iran, and presenting detailed data on one of the most widely used circumvention tools among Iranians.

Publication
Feb 28, 2018

The Yemen War Online: Propagation of Censored Content on Twitter

This study documents and analyzes the sharing of information on Twitter among different political groups related to the ongoing conflict in Yemen. 

News
Feb 21, 2018

Iran's National Information Network: Faster Speeds, but at What Cost?

In this Internet Monitor research bulletin, Berkman Klein Center Affiliate Simin Kargar analyzes the effectiveness of the Iranian government’s campaign to encourage domestic…

Oct 25, 2017

The Slippery Slope of Internet Censorship in Egypt

This report explains the dramatic increase in Internet censorship in Egypt, examines the Twitter conversation around website blocking in Egypt, and identifies ways that users…

Publication
Jun 29, 2017

The Shifting Landscape of Global Internet Censorship

An Uptake in Communications Encryption Is Tempered by Increasing Pressure on Major Platform Providers; Governments Expand Content Restriction Tactics

Documenting the practice of Internet censorship around the world through empirical testing of the availability of the world’s most-trafficked and influential websites.

Publication
May 1, 2017

Analyzing Accessibility of Wikipedia Projects Around the World

This study, conducted by the Internet Monitor project, analyzes the scope of government-sponsored censorship of Wikimedia sites around the world. 

News
Jun 22, 2016

#IranVotes: Political Discourse on Iranian Twitter During the 2016 Parliamentary Elections

Iran's elections in February saw voters decisively sweep away one of the most conservative parliaments in the Islamic Republic's history, and deliver a fresh legislature far…

Publication
Jun 22, 2016

#IranVotes

Political Discourse on Iranian Twitter During the 2016 Parliamentary Elections

#IranVotes: Political Discourse on Iranian Twitter During the 2016 Parliamentary Elections” maps and analyzes the content and structure of the Iranian Twittersphere over the…

News
Jun 2, 2016

Announcing the Net Data Directory

Launching today, the Net Data Directory is a free, publicly available, searchable database of different sources of data about the Internet. Come explore!

News
Dec 10, 2015

New Internet Monitor report: “Openness and Restraint: Structure, Discourse, and Contention in Saudi Twitter”

Internet Monitor, a project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, is delighted to announce the publication of “Openness and Restraint: Structure,…

Publication
Dec 10, 2015

Openness and Restraint

Structure, Discourse, and Contention in Saudi Twitter

"Openness and Restraint" maps and analyzes the structure and content of the Saudi Twittersphere and identifies the communities that coalesce around different political, religious,…

News
Nov 4, 2015

New Internet Monitor report: "Beyond the Wall: Mapping Twitter in China"

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "Beyond the Wall: Mapping Twitter in China," the seventh in a series of special reports that focus on key events and…

Publication
Nov 4, 2015

Beyond the Wall

Mapping Twitter in China

"Beyond the Wall: Mapping Twitter in China" offers a rare look at the activity of Chinese Internet users on a platform that is largely unregulated by the state and only reachable…

News
Sep 28, 2015

Berkman Center Launches New Internet Data Dashboard

Dashboard debuts at World Economic Forum meeting in Geneva

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is pleased to announce the launch of the Internet Monitor dashboard, a freely accessible tool that aims to improve…

News
Jul 27, 2015

Project Spotlight: Internet Monitor

A new, customizable dashboard with real-time info about the Net coming soon

Internet Monitor’s mission is to collect and share data about how people all over the world access and use the Internet. This fall the project plans to release a new platform for…

News
Feb 5, 2015

New Internet Monitor report: "Arab Religious Skeptics Online"

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "Arab Religious Skeptics Online: Anonymity, Autonomy, and Discourse in a Hostile Environment," the sixth in a series…

Publication
Feb 5, 2015

Arab Religious Skeptics Online

Anonymity, Autonomy, and Discourse in a Hostile Environment

"Arab Religious Skeptics Online: Anonymity, Autonomy, and Discourse in a Hostile Environment," authored by Helmi Noman, is the sixth paper in the Internet Monitor special report…

News
Dec 16, 2014

2014 Internet Monitor Annual Report: “Reflections on the Digital World”

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of Internet Monitor 2014: Reflections on the Digital World, the project's second annual report. The report is a…

Publication
Dec 16, 2014

Internet Monitor 2014: Reflections on the Digital World

The Internet Monitor project's second annual report—Internet Monitor 2014: Reflections on the Digital World—is a collection of roughly three dozen short contributions that…

News
Nov 20, 2014

New Internet Monitor Report: "The Tightening Web of Russian Internet Regulation"

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "The Tightening Web of Russian Internet Regulation," the fifth in a series of special reports that focus on key events…

Publication
Nov 20, 2014

The Tightening Web of Russian Internet Regulation

"The Tightening Web of Russian Internet Regulation," authored by Andrey Tselikov, is the fifth paper in the Internet Monitor special report series, which focuses on key events and…

News
Oct 2, 2014

New Internet Monitor Report: "Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests"

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests," the fourth in a series of special…

Publication
Sep 30, 2014

Russia, Ukraine, and the West

Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests

"Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests," authored by Bruce Etling, is the fourth paper in the Internet Monitor special reports series,…

News
Jul 15, 2014

Internet Monitor Launches New Site, Data Platform

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the pilot launch of its new website, thenetmonitor.org. This new platform compiles, curates, and presents data on Internet access and…

News
Apr 29, 2014

New Internet Monitor report: "Blogs as an Alternative Public Sphere"

The Role of Blogs, Mainstream Media, and TV in Russia’s Media Ecology

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "Blogs as an Alternative Public Sphere: The Role of Blogs, Mainstream Media, and TV in Russia’s Media Ecology," the…

Apr 28, 2014

Blogs as an Alternative Public Sphere

The Role of Blogs, Mainstream Media, and TV in Russia’s Media Ecology

"Blogs as an Alternative Public Sphere: The Role of Blogs, Mainstream Media, and TV in Russia’s Media Ecology," authored by Bruce Etling, Hal Roberts, and Robert Faris, is the…

News
Dec 11, 2013

2013 Internet Monitor Annual Report: “Reflections on the Digital World”

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of Internet Monitor 2013: Reflections on the Digital, the project's first-ever annual report. The report—a collection of…

Publication
Dec 11, 2013

Internet Monitor 2013

Reflections on the Digital World

Internet Monitor 2013: Reflections on the Digital World, the Internet Monitor project's first-ever annual report, is a collection of essays from roughly two dozen experts around…

News
Nov 14, 2013

New Internet Monitor report: "Measuring Internet Activity: A (Selective) Review of Methods and Metrics"

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "Measuring Internet Activity: A (Selective) Review of Methods and Metrics", the second in a series of special reports…

Publication
Nov 14, 2013

Measuring Internet Activity

A (Selective) Review of Methods and Metrics

"Measuring Internet Activity: A (Selective) Review of Methods and Metrics," authored by Robert Faris and Rebekah Heacock, explores current efforts to measure digital activity…

News
Jul 16, 2013

New Internet Monitor report: "Rationing the Digital: The Policy and Politics of Internet Use in Cuba Today"

Internet Monitor is delighted to announce the publication of "Rationing the Digital: The Policy and Politics of Internet Use in Cuba Today," the first in a series of special…

Publication
Jul 16, 2013

Rationing the Digital

The Policy and Politics of Internet Use in Cuba Today

"Rationing the Digital: The Policy and Politics of Internet Use in Cuba Today," authored by Internet Monitor contributor Ellery Roberts Biddle, explores Cuba's complex economy of…

News
Jun 19, 2013

Internet Censorship and Control Papers

The Berkman Center is pleased to share that Berkman Fellow Hal Roberts and Steven J. Murdoch of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory have edited a collection of papers…


Community 05

Foreign Policy in Focus

Digital Authoritarianism Is Rising in the Middle East

Internet Monitor paper offers insight into current events

Aug 20, 2019
The Wire

The ‘Special Status’ of Kashmir’s Internet Must Go

2017 Report from Internet Monitor informs online censorship in India

Aug 14, 2019
Medium

The Uncertain Effects of HTTPS Adoption on Access to Information Worldwide

The wider adoption of encrypted protocols for website delivery — HTTPS — could have uncertain long-term implications for online access to information around the world.

Aug 9, 2018
Medium

Toward a safe and open Internet in Pakistan

Navigating and Understanding Digital Rights in Pakistan

Aug 7, 2018
Medium

Paid Trolls and Online Harassment

How a Journalist Confronts Azerbaijani Censorship

Journalist Arzu Geybullayeva discusses censorship, threats, and human rights in Azerbaijan

Jul 2, 2018

People 06

Point of Contact

Team