Iran Jails More Journalists and Blocks Web Sites
Today I read the following New York Times's article: Iran Jails More Journalists and Blocks Web Sites. I've been concerned about this issue for a few years now, in regards to China's similar actions. I think that there is a technical solution here. What we need to do is to set up a global distributed network of secure proxies, both within and outside of Iran/China. It'd work like this. Let's say that person A is within Iran/China, and B is a computer outside of Iran. When person A wants to see a web page (let's say of Amnesty International, which would surely be blocked), B would receive the web page and encrypt it, then send the encrypted version to A. Anyone listening to A's internet connection would be unable to see what web page this person is viewing. There are some important details here. First, the Chinese government could easily just block access to the proxies. Thus, we need a very large and dispersed network of proxies, which would make it impossible to block. Second, it is important that there be proxies *within* the country (China or Iran), storing cached versions of the data. This way, if the government decides to block all Internet access going outside of the country, some of the data will still be available. Third, individual users need to be instructed to turn off their browser's caching mechanism, so that it is more difficult for the government to see what they were looking at if they were to come knocking at their door. Fourth, this needs to be implemented simultaneously on tens of thousands of computers. The government would then have to choose between prosecuting everyone or letting the practice continue. Especially for China, which is becoming a global trade power, total enforcement would result in a significant blow to their economy, which would be a good deterrant.
- posted by David Sontag @ 1:52 AM