Internet Censorship and Control [Guest editors' introduction]

The Internet is a battleground where fights for technical, social, and political control are waged, including between governments and their citizens, between separate governments, and between competing commercial interests. This issue examines the challenges of Internet governance, current practices, and limitations in the existing structures of control. In particular, it shows how the practice of censorship has become more widespread, but authorities being more transparent in their actions and policies, combined with independent verification that authorities are being honest, can reduce the risks. However, there are challenges in monitoring censorship, and this issue examines how technical, political, legal, and economic analysis can be combined to hold governments to account for their actions.