'Internet filtering is growing by the minute around the World': conversation with Robert Faris of ONI Initiative | Bytes for all

'Internet filtering is growing by the minute around the World': conversation with Robert Faris of ONI Initiative | Bytes for all: "ONI research is showing that the filtering is growing by the minute around the World. There are more and more country that are filtering the Internet and the scope of what they filter is growing all the time. Trying to guess what the causes could be, he identified few that are seem to be common all across the research work. Example: to protect our children from harmful content, national security interest, social norms and trying to prevent highly offensive materials from being out there, preventing copyright infringement etc. But interestingly as the research shows, once you put up the infrastructure for filtering the Internet and not only the technical infrastructure but also the administrative, political and social infrastructure- it is very easy to add other things to the list. Rob wishes to extend the research in analyzing the cost benefit of filtering vis-�-vis the alternatives. He thinks ultimate solution is to learn to live with greater freedom of the Internet and find out how to mitigate the negative sides of an open Internet in a more effective way – rather than filtering, which we see as a blunt instrument for carrying this out."