Internet Censorship – Palace for Press Freedom – News

The Uncensored Library Cheats on Internet Censorship. It is not the only example.

The Uncensored library It is a magnificent neoclassical building: imposing Greek columns at the entrance gate, a main hall covered with a huge glass dome and six side wings in which the knowledge collected in the library is stored. Five of these pavilions are country-specific – Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia – and collect articles for journalists who have been banned in their home countries.

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The uncensored library is located on its own island in the computer game «Minecraft».

Uncensored library

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The building is surrounded by a wonderful garden.

Uncensored library

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As the only virtual building, the uncensored library has been included in the “Büchertempel” picture book about the most beautiful libraries in the world.

Uncensored library

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The main hall of the library is located under an imposing glass dome.

Uncensored library

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2.5 million good Minecraft blocks were needed to build the uncensored library.

Uncensored library

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The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders built the uncensored library as a monument to press freedom.

Uncensored library

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Five of the library’s six wings are country specific and contain texts that have been banned in that country.

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The glass dome of the main hall is surrounded by all the flags of the world.

Uncensored library

24 people from 16 different countries built the uncensored library in just five months, out of a total of 2.5 million building blocks – but not real stones, because the huge library is only in the computer game “Minecraft”. It is a project of the NGO Reporters Without Borders to circumvent state censorship.

While it is easy for authoritarian countries to block certain websites, “Minecraft” – the best-selling PC game of all time – is available everywhere. The server on which the uncensored library is located can be blocked. But so far, hundreds of thousands have downloaded data. If the original document is blocked, the library can easily be accessed again in another location.

until that Tor . network, which redirects Internet traffic through its network nodes and was developed by the United States specifically to protect the privacy of its users, has been blocked by the Chinese government. Other services (still) offering an alternative: psiphon For example, who also directs internet traffic beyond state censorship via its own network. In Iran, the service is said to have been used by up to a third of internet users at times.

By the way, not all attempts to circumvent Internet censorship are based on such technological means as Tor or Psiphon. In North Korea there are so-called “sneakernets” – in German: sneaker networks that transmit digital content to people on foot instead of the Internet, for example via USB. Stored on it are Western films and TV shows, which dissidents hope will spur a cultural revolution.