New Software Allows Web Surfers to Leap Over Firewalls

Digital Journal — Watch out, China. Canadian researchers will allow anyone to surf the Net without restriction by introducing software that curbs firewalls. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab will release a program on Friday called Psiphon, a free download that will undoubtedly be an annoyance for governments that monitor what people read or watch on the Internet. Psiphon includes remarkable technology that allows a user in a country with no online restrictions — like Canada — to create an account for someone in a country that censors Web content, like China. That Chinese user can then Google away as freely as any Canadian. Essentially, the Chinese user would be logging onto the Canadian’s computer, turning it into a server to browse the Net without being censored by the Chinese government. The Web traffic between the two users is encrypted, so China would have problems tracing any identities, says Ron Deibert, director of the U of T’s Citizen Lab. “The communities that we’re helping to connect to each other have a legitimate right to exercise their human rights within this governance regime,” Deibert told Reuters. This innovative software arrives at a time when human rights group have accused several countries of blocking websites linked to contentious or antagonistic perspectives contrary to governmental positions. Egypt, China, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran have been extremely harsh on Internet users, sometimes jailing blog writers for posting controversial arguments. What Psiphon will do should be recognized as a monumental move to spread the power of the Web to all corners of the world. Although the software has yet to be tested by a third party (the University is the only group that has used it so far), its very existence validates the Western world’s attempt to combat the growing threat of Net restriction. As any democratic society knows, the more access to information for the citizenry, the happier the people will be. In this case, ignorance is not bliss.