Governmental Censorship of the Internet: Spanish vs. Catalans Case Study

Abstract

Abstract:This article summarizes the actions taken by the Spanish government pretending to censor information published and applications developed by the Catalan government and some independent activists in order to organize an independence referendum. It describes the goals, the technical approaches, and some countermeasures, analyzing also the level of success achieved. There is also an introduction to the legislation being deployed in the European Union and Spain that could give support to some kind of Internet censorship, and the concerns about the compliance of those regulations with the civil rights of freedom and opinion, which should be guaranteed by governments to citizens. The conclusions suggest some ideas to prevent arbitrary application of censorship practices by national authorities using criteria not widely accepted by the Internet community.