OONI: Open Observatory of Network Interference

OONI, the Open Observatory of Network Interference, is a global observation network which aims to collect high quality data using open methodologies, using Free and Open Source Software (FL/OSS) to share observations and open data about the various types, methods, and amounts of network tampering in the world.

Furthermore, OONI is a human rights observation project – observation is a fundamental requirement for the advancement of knowledge and OONI aims to ensure that the tools to make such observations are freely available to all. With the belief that unfettered access to information is an intrinsic human right, OONI seeks to observe levels of surveillance, censorship, and network discrimination in order for people worldwide to have a clearer understanding of the ways in which their access to information and speech is monitored, censored or otherwise filtered.

The end goal of OONI is to collect data which will show an accurate topology of network surveillance, interference and outright censorship. Through this data, it will be possible to draw conclusions about how the internet functions from any location where an OONI probe is present. This data includes which websites are censored, or which services have been tampered with, and by whom. The data also includes information about the observer and will attempt to classify the results. We use the term filternet to describe network connections that are under measurable surveillance, tampering, or subject to censorship.