The Sliding Scale of Control

The Censorship Atlas categorizes state interventions across a dynamic spectrum directly correlated with Freedom on the Net (FOTN) rankings. Our research identifies a phenomenon defined functionally as the “Diagonal Shift”. In contrast to previous research, our atlas is not based on direct measurements, instead we rely on the measurement data reported by third-parties as well as reports on political events. Our sources are made transparent in the ‘References’ tab.

As state authoritarianism increases, the primary mechanisms of control drastically shift. Regimes pivot away from targeted legal and regulatory frameworks, increasingly relying on brute-force infrastructural denial and network-wide structural filtering.