Global Network Interference Detection Over the RIPE Atlas Network

Existing censorship measurement platforms frequently suffer from poor adoption, insufficient geographic coverage, and scalability problems. In order to outline an analytical framework and data collection needs for future ubiquitous measurements initiatives, we build on top of the existent and widely-deployed RIPE Atlas platform. In particular, we propose methods for monitoring the reachability of vital services through an algorithm that balances timeliness, diversity, and cost. We then use Atlas to investigate blocking events in Turkey and Russia. Our measurements identify under-examined forms of interference and provide evidence of cooperation between a well-known blogging platform and government authorities for purposes of blocking hosted content.