Censorship of Wikipedia#Pakistan

{{See also|Internet censorship}}

Some countries continue to block Wikipedia for long periods of time (e.g. China). Other countries use widespread blocks for shorter periods of time such as several months (e.g. Syria) to just hours (e.g. Pakistan).{{cite web|last=Zaccaro|first=Maria|title=Pakistan blocks Wikipedia for 'blasphemous content'|website=BBC News|date=4 February 2023|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64523501|access-date=4 February 2023|archive-date=6 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206064510/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64523501|url-status=live}}

Before the switch to HTTPS, some countries blocked articles on sensitive topics, such as ideas espoused by a political opposition party, articles about current events (e.g. Russia), or ideas that are against the religious tradition of a regime (e.g. Iran). After the switch to HTTPS around 2016, it was no longer possible to see which pages on a website a user was visiting, so this type of blocking was no longer an option.

{{further|List of people imprisoned for editing Wikipedia}}

These prosecutions tend to focus on editors who publish information that the government (e.g. Saudi Arabia) wants to censor, leading to self-censorship.

Few or no reports of government mass surveillance of Wikipedia usage are known since Wikipedia switched over to HTTPS in 2015. However, some governments and companies have installed mass surveillance spyware applications on user equipment, which may detect the usage of VPN software and record visited URLs.{{Cite journal|date=2019-05-01|df=dmy-all|title=China's Algorithms of Repression|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/01/chinas-algorithms-repression/reverse-engineering-xinjiang-police-mass|journal=Human Rights Watch|language=en}} This can hypothetically be utilized to eavesdrop Wikipedia browsing. Legal code may deter people from accessing the sites due to the threat of fines, imprisonment, loss of job, or physical harm.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

On 11 March 2022, Belarusian political police GUBOPiK arrested and detained Mark Bernstein, an editor of the Russian Wikipedia from Minsk, who was editing the Wikipedia article about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, accusing him of the "spread of anti-Russian materials" and of violating Russian "fake news" laws.{{Cite web|title=Prominent editor of Russian Wikipedia pages detained in Belarus|last=Moon|first=Mariella|url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/mark-bernstein-russian-wikipedia-pages-detained-in-belarus-104102452.html|website=Yahoo! News|date=12 March 2022|access-date=14 March 2022|archive-date=13 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313173559/https://www.yahoo.com/now/mark-bernstein-russian-wikipedia-pages-detained-in-belarus-104102452.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=2022-03-15|title=Russische Wikipedia: Festnahme und Drohungen wegen Artikelbearbeitung|language=de|trans-title=Russian Wikipedia: Arrest and threats for editing article|work=Netzpolitik|publisher=netzpolitik.org e. V.|department=Öffentlichkeit|publication-place=Berlin, Germany|url=https://netzpolitik.org/2022/russische-wikipedia-festnahme-und-drohungen-wegen-artikelbearbeitung/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320180643/https://netzpolitik.org/2022/russische-wikipedia-festnahme-und-drohungen-wegen-artikelbearbeitung/|archive-date=2022-03-20|author-first=Maximilian|author-last=Henning}}

On 7 April 2022, a court in Brest sentenced Wikipedia user Pavel Pernikaŭ to two years of prison for three edits of Russian and Belarusian Wikipedia.{{cite web|author=|date=2022-04-07|df=dmy-all|script-title=ru:Редактора Википедии приговорили к двум годам колонии за "дискредитацию Беларуси"|trans-title=Wikipedia editor sentenced to two years in prison for "discrediting Belarus"|url=http://spring96.org/ru/news/107312|access-date=2022-04-08|website=Viasna Human Rights Centre|language=ru|archive-date=19 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619123347/https://spring96.org/ru/news/107312|url-status=live}} He was found guilty of "discrediting the Republic of Belarus" (article 369-1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus).

{{further|Wikimedia censorship in mainland China|Internet censorship in China}}

Access to Wikipedia has varied over the years with the Chinese language version being controlled more tightly than other versions. As of April 2019, all versions of Wikipedia are blocked in mainland China under the Great Firewall.{{cite news|last1=Gandolfo|first1=Ryan|title=Wikipedia Currently Down in China|work=That's Beijing|url=http://www.thatsmags.com/beijing/post/27660/wikipedia-currently-down-in-china|url-status=live|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424081614/http://www.thatsmags.com/beijing/post/27660/wikipedia-currently-down-in-china|archive-date=24 April 2019}}{{cite web|first1=Sukhbir|last1=Singh|first2=Arturo|last2=Filastò|first3=Maria|last3=Xynou|date=4 May 2019|title=China is now blocking all language editions of Wikipedia|url=https://ooni.io/post/2019-china-wikipedia-blocking/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506045216/https://ooni.io/post/2019-china-wikipedia-blocking/|archive-date=6 May 2019|access-date=7 May 2019|publisher=Open Observatory of Network Interference|quote=The following chart, based on OONI data, illustrates that multiple language editions of Wikipedia have been blocked in China as of April 2019.{{nbsp}}... OONI measurements show that many of these Wikipedia domains were previously accessible, but all measurements collected from 25 April 2019 onwards present the same DNS anomalies for all Wikipedia sub-domains.{{nbsp}}... Based on these tests, we were able to conclude that China Telecom does in fact block all language editions of Wikipedia by means of both DNS injection and SNI filtering.}}{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8U2sCLalLY|date=16 May 2019|publisher=Public Television Service|language=zh|access-date=20 May 2019|quote=在中國境內所有的維基百科今天都被封閉都被關閉了|script-title=zh:【新聞大解讀】美中貿易戰延燒 川普封殺華為對中再補一槍！ 2019.05.16|archive-date=31 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831234523/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8U2sCLalLY&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}

The Chinese Wikipedia was launched in May 2001.{{cite news|last=Pan|first=Philip|date=20 February 2006|title=Reference Tool on Web Finds Fans, Censors|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Beijing|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901335.html|url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805062805/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901335.html|archive-date=5 August 2011}} Wikipedia received positive coverage in China's state press in early 2004 but was blocked on 3 June 2004, ahead of the 15th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Proposals to practice self-censorship in a bid to restore the site were rejected by the Chinese Wikipedia community. However, a story by the International Herald Tribune comparing entries on the Chinese and English Wikipedias on topics such as Mao Zedong and Taiwan concluded that the Chinese entries were "watered down and sanitized" of political controversy.{{cite news|last=Montopoli|first=Brian|date=30 November 2006|title=Is Wikipedia China Really Wikipedia?|work=CBS News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-wikipedia-china-really-wikipedia/|url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804234729/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500486_162-2218394-500486.html|archive-date=4 August 2011}} On 22 June 2004, access to Wikipedia was restored without explanation. Wikipedia was blocked again for unknown reasons in September,{{cite web|date=21 October 2005|title=Alert: Authorities block access to online encyclopaedia|url=http://www.ifex.org/china/2005/10/21/authorities_block_access_to_online/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211001828/http://ifex.org/china/2005/10/21/authorities_block_access_to_online/|archive-date=11 December 2011|access-date=23 October 2011|publisher=International Freedom of Expression Exchange}} but only for four days. Wikipedia was again blocked in China in October 2005. Wikipedia users Shi Zhao and Cui Wei wrote letters to technicians and authorities in an attempt to convince them to unblock the website. Part of the letter read, "By blocking Wikipedia, we lose a chance to present China's voice to the world, allowing evil cults, Taiwan independence forces and others{{nbsp}}... to present a distorted image of China."

In October 2006, The New York Times reported that the English Wikipedia was unblocked in China, although the Chinese Wikipedia remained blocked. New media researcher Andrew Lih blogged that he could not read the English-language article on the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in China.{{cite news|last=Cohen|first=Noam|date=16 October 2006|title=Chinese Government Relaxes Its Total Ban on Wikipedia|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/technology/16wikipedia.html|url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220083229/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/technology/16wikipedia.html|archive-date=20 February 2019}} Lih said that "There is no monolithically operating Great Firewall", noting that for users of various internet service providers in different locations in China—China Netcom in Beijing, China Telecom in Shanghai, and various providers in Anhui—the Chinese Wikipedia was blocked only in Anhui.{{cite web|title=China PARTIALLY unblocks Wikipedia|url=http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/10/11/china-partially-unblocks-wikipedia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061201142424/http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/10/11/china-partially-unblocks-wikipedia/|archive-date=1 December 2006|access-date=24 December 2006|website=andrewlih.com|type=blog|df=dmy-all}} Advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders praised Wikipedia's leaders for not self-censoring.{{cite news|date=16 November 2006|title=China 'unblocks' Wikipedia site|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6154444.stm|url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326081458/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6154444.stm|archive-date=26 March 2012}}

On 10 November 2006, Lih reported that the Chinese Wikipedia appeared to have been fully unblocked.{{cite web|title=Chinese Wikipedia now fully unblocked?|url=http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/11/10/chinese-wikipedia-now-fully-unblocked/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624185237/http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/11/10/chinese-wikipedia-now-fully-unblocked/|archive-date=24 June 2007|access-date=24 December 2006|website=andrewlih.com|type=blog|df=dmy-all}} Lih confirmed the full unblocking several days later and offered a partial analysis of the effects based on the rate of new account creation on the Chinese Wikipedia. Before the unblocking, 300–400 new accounts were created daily. In the four days after the unblocking, the rate of new registrations more than tripled to over 1,200 daily, making it the second fastest growing Wikipedia after the English version. Similarly, there were 75% more articles created in the week ending on 13 November than during the week before. On the same weekend that the Chinese Wikipedia passed the 100,000 article mark, Lih predicted that the second 100,000 would come quickly but that the existing body of Chinese Wikipedia users would have their hands full teaching the new users basic Wikipedia policies and norms.{{cite web|title=Chinese Wikipedia's Surge in Growth|url=http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/11/13/chinese-wikipedias-surge-in-growth/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930194048/http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2006/11/13/chinese-wikipedias-surge-in-growth|archive-date=30 September 2007|access-date=24 December 2006|website=andrewlih.com|type=blog|df=dmy-all}}

On 16 November 2006, the Reuters news agency reported the main page of the Chinese Wikipedia could be displayed but not pages on some taboo political subjects, such as "4{{nbsp}}June, [1989 protests]".{{cite news|title=Wikipedia unblocked in China after year-long ban|agency=Reuters|url=http://news.oneindia.in/2006/11/16/wikipedia-unblocked-in-china-after-year-long-ban-1163687797.html|url-status=live|access-date=24 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309023026/http://news.oneindia.in/2006/11/16/wikipedia-unblocked-in-china-after-year-long-ban-1163687797.html|archive-date=9 March 2012}} However, subsequent reports suggested that both the Chinese and English versions had been reblocked the next day on 17 November.{{cite web|title=The Nanny changes her mind: Wikipedia blocked again|url=http://www.danwei.org/internet/the_nanny_changes_her_mind_wik.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221150239/http://www.danwei.org/internet/the_nanny_changes_her_mind_wik.php|archive-date=21 February 2007|access-date=24 December 2006|publisher=DANWEI}} On 15 June 2007, access to non-political articles on the English Wikipedia was restored.{{cite web|title=English Wikipedia unblocked in China|url=http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/online/new-media/news/index.cfm?newsid=3540|access-date=20 June 2007|archive-date=7 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807222718/http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/online/new-media/news/index.cfm?newsid=3540|url-status=live}} On 6 September 2007, IDG News reported that the English Wikipedia was blocked again.{{cite news|last=Schwankert|first=Steven|date=6 September 2007|title=Wikipedia Blocked in China Again|publisher=IDG News|via=PCworld|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136879-c,sites/article.html|url-status=live|access-date=26 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123035951/http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136879-c,sites/article.html|archive-date=23 November 2007}} On 2 April 2008, The Register reported that the blocks on the English and Chinese Wikipedias were lifted.{{cite news|last=Barak|first=Sylvie|date=3 April 2008|title=China uncensors Wikipedia|work=The Inquirer|url=http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/03/china-uncensors-wikipedia|url-status=unfit|access-date=3 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406233620/http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/03/china-uncensors-wikipedia|archive-date=6 April 2008}}{{cite web|first=Cade|last=Metz|date=31 July 2008|title=Chinese net censors unblock BBC, Wikipedia|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/31/chinese_unblock_bbc/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805064934/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/31/chinese_unblock_bbc/|archive-date=5 August 2008|access-date=31 July 2008|work=The Register}} This was confirmed by the BBC and came within the context of foreign journalists arriving in Beijing to report on the 2008 Summer Olympics and the International Olympic Committee's request for press freedom during the games.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7535280.stm|title=Beijing unblocks BBC Chinese site|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805004326/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7535280.stm|archive-date=5 August 2008|work=BBC News|date=31 July 2008}} In September 2008, Jimmy Wales had a meeting with Cai Mingzhao, Vice Director of China's State Council Information Office. While no agreements were made, Wales believed that a channel of communication had been opened between Wikipedia's community and the government of China.{{cite web|date=1 October 2008|title=Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales meets China's censors|url=http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2008/10/jimmy-wales-mee.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710155338/http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2008/10/jimmy-wales-mee.html|archive-date=10 July 2011|access-date=13 June 2011|website=RConversation|type=blog}}

According to a report published in the American Economic Review in 2011, the blocking of the Chinese Wikipedia not only reduced the group size of its users but also decreased the unblocked users' contributions by 42.8% on average.{{cite journal|url=http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aer.101.4.1601|title=Group Size and Incentives to Contribute: A Natural Experiment at Chinese Wikipedia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217111320/https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aer.101.4.1601|archive-date=17 December 2021|first1=Xiaoquan|last1=Zhang|first2=Feng|last2=Zhu|journal=American Economic Review|date=June 2011|volume=101|issue=4|pages=1601–1615|doi=10.1257/aer.101.4.1601}}

In 2012, both the Chinese and English Wikipedias were accessible in China{{cite web|date=15 November 2012|title=Wikipedia founder caps off MSE Symposium|url=http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2012/11/15/wikipedia-founder-caps-off-mse-symposium-58006/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225083725/http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2012/11/15/wikipedia-founder-caps-off-mse-symposium-58006/|archive-date=25 February 2013|access-date=23 November 2012|work=The Johns Hopkins News-Letter}} except for political articles. If a Chinese IP attempted to access or search for a "sensitive" article, the IP would be blocked from visiting Wikipedia for between several minutes to up to an hour.{{cite news|url=https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/networking/academics-break-the-great-firewall-of-china-2039372326/|title=Academics break the Great Firewall of China|first=Tom|last=Espiner|work=ZDNet|date=4 July 2006}}

Chinese authorities started blocking access to the secure (HTTPS) version of the site on 31 May 2013. Although the non-secure (HTTP) version was still available, it was vulnerable to keyword filtering allowing individual articles to be selectively blocked. GreatFire urged Wikipedia and users to circumvent the block by accessing other IP addresses owned by Wikipedia with HTTPS.{{cite news|last=McMillan|first=Graeme|date=4 June 2013|url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/china-censors-wikipedia-ahead-of-tiananmen-square-anniversary/#ixzz2VK0jhEHk|title=Chinese authorities apparently started blocking access to the site this past May 31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609213147/http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/china-censors-wikipedia-ahead-of-tiananmen-square-anniversary/#ixzz2VK0jhEHk|archive-date=9 June 2013|work=Digital Trends}} In 2013, after Jimmy Wales stated that Wikipedia will not tolerate "5 seconds" of censorship, Shen Yi, an Internet researcher at Fudan University in Shanghai said that while "Wikipedia is tough against the Chinese government, it may not necessarily be so grand when faced with US government or European justice systems' requirements to modify or delete articles or disclose information".{{cite news|url=http://news.21cn.com/world/guojisaomiao/a/2013/0813/05/23400699.shtml |script-title=zh:维基百科：宁愿放弃中国业务 网络审查"5秒都不行|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222163902/http://news.21cn.com/world/guojisaomiao/a/2013/0813/05/23400699.shtml|archive-date=22 February 2014|trans-title=Wikipedia would rather give up business in China than tolerate '5 seconds of Internet Censorship'|work=Global Times|date=13 August 2013}}

According to GreatFire, both the encrypted and unencrypted Chinese Wikipedia were blocked on 19 May 2015.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Charlie|date=18 June 2015|title=We Had Our Arguments, But We Will Miss You Wikipedia|newspaper=Huffington Post|location=United States|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-smith/we-had-our-arguments-but-_b_7610130.html|url-status=live|access-date=19 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619083431/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-smith/we-had-our-arguments-but-_b_7610130.html|archive-date=19 June 2015}}

Since June 2015, all Wikipedias redirect HTTP requests to the corresponding HTTPS addresses, thereby making encryption mandatory for all users and rendering the site inaccessible in China. As a result, Chinese censors cannot see which specific pages an individual is viewing and therefore cannot block a specific subset of pages (such as Ai Weiwei, Liu Xiaobo or Tiananmen Square){{cite AV media|date=26 October 2017|title=Interview with Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Wikia|time=5:18|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zns4kPF7NO8&t=5m18s|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809094152/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zns4kPF7NO8&t=5m18s|archive-date=9 August 2020|access-date=12 January 2019|via=YouTube}} as they did in past years.

Wales said he would fly to China to lobby the Chinese government to unlock the site within two weeks at the Leadership Energy Summit Asia 2015 in Kuala Lumpur on 2{{nbsp}}December 2015. The government of China completely blocked all language versions of the site again on 4 December.{{cite news|date=5 December 2015|title=China has blocked Wikipedia again|newspaper=PixelsTech|url=http://www.pixelstech.net/article/1449361467-China-has-blocked-Wikipedia-again|url-status=live|access-date=6 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208051317/http://www.pixelstech.net/article/1449361467-China-has-blocked-Wikipedia-again|archive-date=8 December 2015}} A large number of Chinese internet users complained about the block on social networks, although most of the complaints were deleted after a short period.{{cite news|date=4 December 2015|script-title=zh:基金会全站IP被墙 维基百科所有语言全面阵亡|language=zh|work=China Digital Times|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2015/12/%E5%9F%BA%E9%87%91%E4%BC%9A%E5%85%A8%E7%AB%99ip%E8%A2%AB%E5%A2%99-%E7%BB%B4%E5%9F%BA%E7%99%BE%E7%A7%91%E6%89%80%E6%9C%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%A8%80%E5%85%A8%E9%9D%A2%E9%98%B5%E4%BA%A1/|url-status=live|access-date=29 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228200023/http://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2015/12/%E5%9F%BA%E9%87%91%E4%BC%9A%E5%85%A8%E7%AB%99ip%E8%A2%AB%E5%A2%99-%E7%BB%B4%E5%9F%BA%E7%99%BE%E7%A7%91%E6%89%80%E6%9C%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%A8%80%E5%85%A8%E9%9D%A2%E9%98%B5%E4%BA%A1/|archive-date=28 December 2015}} However, it became possible to visit Wikipedia in other languages on 6{{nbsp}}December in China again.{{cite journal|date=18 December 2015|script-title=zh:维基创始人：向鲁炜介绍了运作模式 不知为何在内地被禁|url=http://www.nanzao.com/sc/national/151b35d2ba62d9d/wei-ji-chuang-shi-ren-xiang-lu-wei-jie-shao-liao-yun-zuo-mo-shi-bu-zhi-wei-he-zai-nei-di-bei-jin|journal=South China Morning Post|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322142820/http://www.nanzao.com/sc/national/151b35d2ba62d9d/wei-ji-chuang-shi-ren-xiang-lu-wei-jie-shao-liao-yun-zuo-mo-shi-bu-zhi-wei-he-zai-nei-di-bei-jin|archive-date=22 March 2016|access-date=29 December 2015}}

Wales met Lu Wei, the director of Cyberspace Administration of China on 17 December 2015 during the World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. Wales said that this was the first time they met and there was no consensus on specific issues but that the purpose of the meeting was for the two to "meet and know each other". Wales told Lu Wei how Wikipedia and Wikimedia work in the world and expressed hopes to meet Lu Wei and the Cyberspace Administration of China regularly in the future. When a reporter asked if he would order Wikipedia to hide some information to maintain stable operations in China, he responded "Never."{{cite news|last1=Yeung |first1=L.|date=17 December 2015|title=維基百科創辦人稱永不以審查換解禁 今首晤網信辦未達共識|trans-title=Wikipedia founder meets "China's Internet Tsar"|url=http://news.mingpao.com/ins/instantnews/web_tc/article/20151217/s00004/1450326332419|url-status=live|work=Ming Pao|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220020920/http://news.mingpao.com/ins/instantnews/web_tc/article/20151217/s00004/1450326332419|archive-date=20 December 2015|access-date=17 December 2015}} Still, Wales' own words have been censored; he said that the improvements in machine translation might make it "no longer possible" for authorities to control flows of information in the future during a panel discussion. However, in the official translation, his statement was that such improvements will help governments to better analyze online communications.{{cite journal|last1=Areddy|first1=James T.|date=17 December 2015|title=Anti-Wikipedian Translation at China's Internet Conference|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/12/17/anti-wikipedian-translation-at-chinas-internet-conference/|url-status=live|journal=WSJ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223042819/http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/12/17/anti-wikipedian-translation-at-chinas-internet-conference/|archive-date=23 December 2015|access-date=29 December 2015}}

On 23 April 2019, all versions of Wikipedia were blocked in China.{{cite news|date=14 May 2019|title=Wikipedia blocked in China in all languages|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48269608|url-status=live|access-date=15 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515001341/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48269608|archive-date=15 May 2019}}

On 23 September 2020, Wikimedia's application for the status as an official observer at the World Intellectual Property Organization was rejected by the Chinese government because China's representative claimed that they had "spotted a large amount of content and disinformation in violation of [the] One China principle" on webpages affiliated with Wikimedia, and Wikimedia's Taiwan branch has been "carrying out political activities{{nbsp}}... which could undermine the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity".{{Cite web|last=Hui|first=Mary|date=September 25, 2020|title=Beijing blocked Wikimedia from a UN agency because of 'Taiwan-related issues'|url=https://qz.com/1908836/china-blocks-wikimedia-from-un-agency-wipo-over-taiwan-dispute/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119120833/https://qz.com/1908836/china-blocks-wikimedia-from-un-agency-wipo-over-taiwan-dispute/|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=25 September 2020|work=Quartz}}

On 24 October 2020, a Chinese citizen in Zhoushan, Zhejiang was penalized by the local police for "illegally visiting Wikipedia".{{cite news|script-title=zh:行政处罚结果信息公开|language=zh|work=People's Government of Zhejiang Province|url=http://www.zjzwfw.gov.cn/zjzw/punish/frontpunish/detail.do?unid=A3309026100002020105096&webid=21&guid=3C2774BA00524546AF9EF97DEBEEACBA|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201029033449/http://www.zjzwfw.gov.cn/zjzw/punish/frontpunish/detail.do?unid=A3309026100002020105096&webid=21&guid=3C2774BA00524546AF9EF97DEBEEACBA|archive-date=29 October 2020}}{{cite news|date=28 October 2020|script-title=zh:民众翻墙上维基查资料，遭警方登门逮捕并行政处罚|language=zh|work=China Digital Times|url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2020/10/%E3%80%90%E7%AB%8B%E6%AD%A4%E5%AD%98%E7%85%A7%E3%80%91%E6%B0%91%E4%BC%97%E7%BF%BB%E5%A2%99%E4%B8%8A%E7%BB%B4%E5%9F%BA%E6%9F%A5%E8%B5%84%E6%96%99%EF%BC%8C%E9%81%AD%E8%AD%A6%E6%96%B9%E7%99%BB%E9%97%A8/|url-status=live|access-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029122603/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2020/10/%E3%80%90%E7%AB%8B%E6%AD%A4%E5%AD%98%E7%85%A7%E3%80%91%E6%B0%91%E4%BC%97%E7%BF%BB%E5%A2%99%E4%B8%8A%E7%BB%B4%E5%9F%BA%E6%9F%A5%E8%B5%84%E6%96%99%EF%BC%8C%E9%81%AD%E8%AD%A6%E6%96%B9%E7%99%BB%E9%97%A8/|archive-date=29 October 2020}}{{Cite web|last=VanderKlippe|first=Nathan|author-link=Nathan VanderKlippe|date=October 29, 2020|title=China cracks down on use of unsanctioned foreign websites and social media|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-china-cracks-down-on-illegal-web-use/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726101144/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-china-cracks-down-on-illegal-web-use/|archive-date=26 July 2021|access-date=26 July 2021|work=The Globe and Mail}}

On 5 October 2021, the Chinese government rejected the Wikimedia Foundation's bid for observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization again for the same reason as in 2020.{{Cite web|date=5 October 2021|title=China again blocks Wikimedia Foundation's accreditation to World Intellectual Property Organization|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2021/10/05/china-again-blocks-wikimedia-foundations-accreditation-to-world-intellectual-property-organization/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007065943/https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2021/10/05/china-again-blocks-wikimedia-foundations-accreditation-to-world-intellectual-property-organization/|archive-date=7 October 2021|access-date=7 October 2021|work=Wikimedia Foundation}}

Despite being censored in mainland China, and as VPNs are normally not allowed to edit Wikipedia, Wikipedia administrators from China have permitted IP block exemptions for a select number of mainland users. Such users are recruited to change the editorial content on Wikipedia in support of Chinese government's viewpoint and/or to support the election of pro-Beijing administrators on Wikipedia, with the aim of gaining control of Wikipedia. Academics suggested that "China urgentlyneeds to encourage and train Chinese netizens to become Wikipedia platform opinion leaders and administrators ... [who] can adhere to socialist values and form some core editorial teams."{{cite magazine | url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/wikipedia-mainland-china-admins-banned.html | title=Why Wikipedia Banned Several Chinese Admins | work=Slate | date=26 October 2021 | last1=Harrison | first1=Stephen | access-date=6 August 2022 | archive-date=27 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027002825/https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/wikipedia-mainland-china-admins-banned.html | url-status=live }} The WMC has clashed with Wikipedia editors from Taiwan, not only over Wikipedia's content, but also making death threats made against Taiwan's community of Wikipedians. One Taiwanese editor suggested that it was not just patriotic mainlanders, but a "larger structural coordinated strategy the government has to manipulate these platforms" beside Wikipedia, such as Twitter and Facebook.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49921173 | title=China and Taiwan clash over Wikipedia edits | work=BBC News | date=4 October 2019 | archive-date=3 December 2019 | access-date=20 April 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203063303/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49921173 | url-status=live }}

The WMC has threatened to report Wikipedia editors to Hong Kong’s national security police hotline over the disputed article "2019–2020 Hong Kong protests" characterized by edit warring.{{Cite web |last=Cheng |first=Selina |date=2021-07-11 |title=Wikipedia wars: How Hongkongers and mainland Chinese are battling to set the narrative |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/07/11/wikipedia-wars-how-hongkongers-and-mainland-chinese-are-battling-to-set-the-narrative/ |access-date=2022-08-11 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221201440/https://hongkongfp.com/2021/07/11/wikipedia-wars-how-hongkongers-and-mainland-chinese-are-battling-to-set-the-narrative/ |url-status=live }} A Hong Kong-based editor, who remains anonymous because of fears of intimidation, noted that "Pro-Beijing people often remove content that is sympathetic to protests, such as tear gas being fired and images of barricades. They also add their own content". Acknowledging that "edit wars" happen on both sides, the anonymous editor stated that "Pro-democracy editors tend to add content to shift the balance or the tone of the article, but in my experience, the pro-Beijing editors are a lot more aggressive in churning out disinformation. It's now unfixable without external interference. Someone is trying to rewrite history."{{Cite news |date=2021-10-29 |title=Wikipedia in Chinese editing war of words |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59081611 |access-date=2022-05-01 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031000638/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59081611 |url-status=live }}

On 13 September 2019, the Wikimedia Foundation banned seven Wikipedia users and removed administrator privileges from twelve users that were part of Wikimedians of Mainland China. Maggie Dennis, the foundation's vice present of community resilience and sustainability, said that there had been an yearlong investigation into "infiltration concerns" that threatened the "very foundations of Wikipedia". Dennis observed that the infiltrators had tried to promote "the aims of China, as interpreted through whatever filters they may bring to bear". Suggesting possible links to the Chinese Communist Party, Dennis said "We needed to act based on credible information that some members (not all) of that group [WMC] have harassed, intimidated, and threatened other members of our community, including in some cases physically harming others, in order to secure their own power and subvert the collaborative nature of our projects".{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58559412 | title=Wikipedia blames pro-China infiltration for bans | work=BBC News | date=16 September 2021 | archive-date=18 September 2021 | access-date=20 April 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918133637/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58559412 | url-status=live }}

{{Further|Internet censorship in India}}

In July 2024, Asian News International sued Wikimedia to uncover the identity of editors who characterized it on Wikipedia as being a propaganda tool for the government, alleging the editors had defamed the news agency.{{Cite web|last=Singh|first=Manish|date=2024-11-05|title=India issues notice to Wikipedia over concerns of bias|url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/05/india-issues-notice-to-wikipedia-over-concerns-of-bias/|access-date=2024-11-06|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}} The Delhi High Court threatened to block Wikipedia in India if the names of editors were not turned over.{{Cite web|date=2024-11-05|title=Govt issues notice to Wikipedia, asks why it should be treated as intermediary and not publisher|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/centre-issues-notice-wikipedia-asks-why-intermediary-not-publisher-9654226/|access-date=2024-11-06|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}

On 21 October 2024, the Wikimedia Foundation suspended access to the article for the lawsuit itself—due to an order from the court stating that that article violated the sub judice principle. This is believed to be the first time an English Wikipedia page had been taken down after a court order.{{Cite news|last=Deep|first=Aroon|date=2024-10-21|title=Wikipedia suspends page on the ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by ANI against Wikimedia Foundation|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/wikipedia-suspends-access-to-ani-defamation-case-page-following-delhi-hc-order/article68778075.ece|access-date=2024-11-09|work=The Hindu|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web|date=2024-10-30|title=Wikipedia v ANI: Why the online encyclopaedia has landed in legal trouble in India|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdrdydkypv7o|access-date=2024-11-09|website=BBC News|language=en-GB}}

On March 17, the Supreme Court of India questioned the Delhi High Court's order asking Wikipedia to remove details of the lawsuit.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=T. N. M. |date=2025-03-18 |title=SC slams Delhi HC order directing Wikipedia to remove ANI defamation case page |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/sc-slams-delhi-hc-order-directing-wikipedia-to-remove-ani-defamation-case-page |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=The News Minute |language=en |archive-date=15 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250415204717/https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/sc-slams-delhi-hc-order-directing-wikipedia-to-remove-ani-defamation-case-page |url-status=live }} It also asked why the High Court was being "so touchy" about the issue. It further noted that courts should not demand content removal merely because it is critical of them.https://www.uniindia.com/news/india/sc-issues-notice-to-ani-on-wikipedia-s-plea-against-delhi-hc-takedown-order/3415322.html Supreme Court Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the case would have broad implications for press freedom. "This concerns press freedom. If it is Wikipedia today, it could be someone else tomorrow."{{Cite web |last=Standard |first=Business |title=Wikimedia moves SC seeking to quash HC order asking it to take down content |url=https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/wikimedia-moves-sc-seeking-to-quash-hc-order-asking-it-to-take-down-content-125031801338_1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250415231232/https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/wikimedia-moves-sc-seeking-to-quash-hc-order-asking-it-to-take-down-content-125031801338_1.html |archive-date=15 April 2025 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.business-standard.com |language=en-US |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Scroll |date=2025-03-18 |title='Question of media freedom': SC on Delhi HC order to remove Wikipedia page on ANI defamation suit |url=https://scroll.in/latest/1080396/question-of-media-freedom-sc-on-delhi-hc-order-to-remove-wikipedia-page-on-ani-defamation-suit |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Scroll.in |language=en |archive-date=5 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405223332/https://scroll.in/latest/1080396/question-of-media-freedom-sc-on-delhi-hc-order-to-remove-wikipedia-page-on-ani-defamation-suit |url-status=live }}

{{further|Internet censorship in Iran}}

In a November 2013 report published by the Center for Global Communication Studies of the University of Pennsylvania, researchers Collin Anderson and Nima Nazeri scanned 800,000 Persian-language Wikipedia articles and found that the Iranian government blocks 963 of these pages.{{Cite news|last=Harrison|first=Stephen|date=2019-05-21|title=Why China Blocked Wikipedia in All Languages|url=https://slate.com/technology/2019/05/wikipedia-china-block-censorship-tiananmen-square.html|access-date=2024-05-17|work=Slate|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|archive-date=13 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413021251/https://slate.com/technology/2019/05/wikipedia-china-block-censorship-tiananmen-square.html|url-status=live}} According to the authors, "Censors repeatedly targeted Wikipedia pages about government rivals, minority religious beliefs, and criticisms of the state, officials, and the police. Just under half of the blocked Wiki-pages are biographies, including pages about individuals the authorities have allegedly detained or killed."{{cite web|last1=Anderson|first1=Colin|last2=Nazeri|first2=Nima|date=7 November 2013|title=Citation Filtered: Iran's Censorship of Wikipedia|url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=iranmediaprogram|publisher=Center for Global Communication Studies, University of Pennsylvania|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318113328/https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=iranmediaprogram|archive-date=18 March 2020|url-status=live}} Anderson said that Persian Wikipedia, as a microcosm of the Iranian internet, is a "useful place to uncover the types of online content forbidden and an excellent template to identify keyword blocking themes and filtering rules that apply across the greater internet."{{cite news|date=12 November 2013|title=How Iran Uses Wikipedia To Censor The Internet|work=BuzzFeed|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/how-iran-uses-wikipedia-to-censor-the-internet|url-status=live|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427075335/https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/how-iran-uses-wikipedia-to-censor-the-internet|archive-date=27 April 2016}} In May 2014, according to Mashable, the Iranian government blocked at least two pages on the Persian Wikipedia.{{cite web|date=17 May 2014|title=Iran blocks access to Google, Wikipedia: Report|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Iran-blocks-access-to-Google-Wikipedia-Report/articleshow/35257015.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518140451/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Iran-blocks-access-to-Google-Wikipedia-Report/articleshow/35257015.cms|archive-date=18 May 2014|access-date=17 May 2014|work=Times of India|quote=According to Mashable, Iran has blocked another Google service, the hosting platform Google Sites, and censored at least two sensitive Wikipedia pages in Farsi in the last couple of days.}}

In 2015, the Wikipedia software migrated to HTTPS protocol, leaving the Iranian government with no choice but to either block it completely or not block it at all. Iran chose the latter. Wikimedia Commons was blocked during the first half of 2016, but the block has been lifted since then.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} According to the Associated Press, during the {{nowrap|COVID-19 pandemic}}, access to Wikipedia was disrupted in Iranian networks.{{Cite web|script-title=fa:ویکی‌پدیا فارسی به خاطر شیوع کرونا در ایران مختل شده است|trans-title=Persian Wikipedia has been disrupted due to the outbreak of Corona in Iran|date=3 March 2020|url=https://ir.voanews.com/a/iran-corona/5312762.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303123722/https://ir.voanews.com/a/iran-corona/5312762.html|archive-date=3 March 2020|access-date=17 December 2021|language=fa}}

As of 2023, Wikinews Farsi is blocked. XTools was blocked for months.{{Cite web|script-title=fa:ویکی‌پدیا:قهوه‌خانه/فنی: تفاوت میان نسخه‌ها |url=https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%BE%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%A7:%D9%82%D9%87%D9%88%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87/%D9%81%D9%86%DB%8C|access-date=2023-06-29|website=Wikipedia|language=fa}}{{user-generated inline|date=August 2024}}

On 21 February 2021, following the military coup d'état, Myanmar blocked Wikipedia in all languages as part of the junta's censorship.{{Cite news|agency=ANI|date=2021-02-21|title=Myanmar blocks Wikipedia in all languages, internet suspended: NetBlocks|work=Business Standard India|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/myanmar-blocks-wikipedia-in-all-languages-internet-suspended-netblocks-121022100112_1.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301093644/https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/myanmar-blocks-wikipedia-in-all-languages-internet-suspended-netblocks-121022100112_1.html|archive-date=1 March 2021}}

{{See also|Censorship in North Korea}}

Internet access in North Korea is severely limited, requiring special permission and viewers of foreign media could face imprisonment or death.{{Cite news|last=McCartney|first=Micah|date=2024-04-12|title=Kim Jong Un 'desperate' to control narrative in North Korea: US official|url=https://www.newsweek.com/us-official-says-kim-jong-un-desperate-control-narrative-north-korea-1889711 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}{{Original research inline|date=August 2024}}

{{further|Internet censorship in Pakistan}}

For seven hours on 31 March 2006, the entire domain of wikipedia.org was blocked in Pakistan because one article contained information pertaining to the controversial cartoons of Muhammad.{{cite news|date=14 March 2006|title=Websites blocked, PTA tells SC: Blasphemous material|website=Dawn|url=http://archives.dawn.com/2006/03/14/top16.htm|url-status=live|access-date=5 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912053554/http://archives.dawn.com/2006/03/14/top16.htm|archive-date=12 September 2013}}{{cite web|date=31 March 2006|title=Pakistan Blocks Wikipedia|url=http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/pakistan-blocks-wikipedia/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605055021/http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/pakistan-blocks-wikipedia/|archive-date=5 June 2011|access-date=13 April 2010|website=Blogcritics}}{{cite web|date=31 March 2006|title=Wikipedia Blocked in Pakistan for seven hours|url=http://karachi.metblogs.com/2006/03/31/wikipedia-blocked-in-pakistan-for-seven-hours/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714080324/http://karachi.metblogs.com/2006/03/31/wikipedia-blocked-in-pakistan-for-seven-hours/|archive-date=14 July 2011|access-date=13 April 2010|publisher=Karachi Metblogs}}

The English version of Wikipedia was blocked in Pakistan for several days in May 2010 during the controversy surrounding Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.{{cite web|last=Ali|first=Basit|date=20 May 2010|title=Youtube, Wikipedia, Flickr blocked in Pakistan after Facebook|website=basitali.com|url=http://www.basitali.com/2010/05/youtube-wikipedia-flickr-blocked-in-pakistan-after-facebook.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312155430/http://www.basitali.com/2010/05/youtube-wikipedia-flickr-blocked-in-pakistan-after-facebook.html|archive-date=12 March 2016|access-date=28 November 2017|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|date=20 May 2010|title=Pakistan blocks access to YouTube in internet crackdown|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10130195|url-status=live|access-date=28 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203223803/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10130195|archive-date=3 December 2017}}

{{wikinews|Pakistan reverses block on Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia}}

On 1 February 2023, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) degraded Wikipedia services for 48 hours due to what it said was Wikipedia's failure to remove sacrilegious content. The PTA stated that Wikipedia services would be blocked if the content remained available.{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1734768/wikipedia-services-degraded-for-48-hours-over-sacrilegious-content-pta|author=|title=Wikipedia services degraded for 48 hours over 'sacrilegious content': PTA|date=February 1, 2023|website=Dawn|access-date=8 September 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2398853/pta-degrades-wikipedia-services-for-not-blocking-sacrilegious-content|author=|title=PTA degrades Wikipedia services for not blocking 'sacrilegious content'|work=The Express Tribune|date=February 1, 2023|access-date=8 September 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/468510-pakistan-warns-blocking-wikipedia-over-non-removal-of-sacrilegious-content|title=Pakistan warns of blocking Wikipedia over non-removal of 'sacrilegious content'|website=Geo News|first=Zainab|last=Sabir Mir|date=February 1, 2023|access-date=8 September 2024}} On 3 February, Pakistani authorities blocked access to Wikipedia.{{cite web|last=Clark|first=Mitchell|title=Pakistan is reportedly blocking Wikipedia|website=The Verge|date=2023-02-03|url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/3/23584911/pakistan-wikipedia-block-sacrilegious-content|access-date=2023-02-04}}{{Cite news|title=Wikipedia Is Blocked in Pakistan Over 'Sacrilegious' Content|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-03/wikipedia-is-blocked-in-pakistan-over-sacrilegious-content|url-access=subscription|last=Haider|first=Kamran|date=2023-02-03|access-date=2023-02-03|work=Bloomberg News|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230203193808/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-03/wikipedia-is-blocked-in-pakistan-over-sacrilegious-content|archive-date=2023-02-03|url-status=live}} On 6 February 2023, the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, ordered the PTA to immediately remove the ban on Wikipedia. The reason for lifting the ban was that "Wikipedia was a useful site/portal which supported the dissemination of knowledge and information for the general public, students and the academia".{{Cite web|title=Pakistan lifts ban on Wikipedia|first=Zarmeen|last=Zehra|date=February 6, 2023|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/469443-pakistan-decides-to-restore-wikipedia-after-brief-suspension|access-date=2024-09-08|website=Geo News|language=en}}

{{further|Block of Wikipedia in Russia|Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Internet censorship in Russia|Mass surveillance in Russia|Russian information war against Ukraine|Wikipedia and the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

Since the early 2010s, Russian Wikipedia and its editors have experienced numerous and increasing threats of nationwide blocks and country-wide enforcement of blacklisting by the Russian government, as well as several attempts to censor pages, spread propaganda, and disinform,{{cite web|date=10 July 2012|script-title=ru:Забастовка Википедии на русском языке|trans-title=Russian-language Wikipedia strike|url=https://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/Забастовка_Википедии_на_русском_языке|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711231309/http://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC_%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B5|archive-date=11 July 2012|access-date=10 July 2012|language=ru}}{{cite news|date=10 July 2012|title=Russian Wikipedia goes dark in protest at censor law|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18781869|url-status=live|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710191520/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18781869|archive-date=10 July 2012}}{{cite news|date=10 July 2012|title=Wikipedia down in protest in Russia|work=Euronews|url=http://www.euronews.com/2012/07/10/wikipedia-down-in-protest-in-russia/|access-date=10 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712171605/http://www.euronews.com/2012/07/10/wikipedia-down-in-protest-in-russia/|archive-date=12 July 2012}}{{cite news|first=Andrew E.|last=Kramer|date=31 March 2013|title=Russians Selectively Blocking Internet|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/technology/russia-begins-selectively-blocking-internet-content.html?_r=0|url-status=live|access-date=8 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404004908/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/technology/russia-begins-selectively-blocking-internet-content.html?_r=0|archive-date=4 April 2013}}{{cite news|date=5 April 2013|title=Russian media regulator confirms Wikipedia blacklisted|work=Russia Beyond the Headlines|url=http://rbth.ru/news/2013/04/05/russian_media_regulator_confirms_wikipedia_blacklisted_24706.html|access-date=8 April 2013|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217111314/https://www.rbth.com/news/2013/04/05/russian_media_regulator_confirms_wikipedia_blacklisted_24706.html}} more recently during the 2014 Russo-Ukrainian war in the Donbas region{{cite journal|date=February 2022|title=Why Botter: How Pro-Government Bots Fight Opposition in Russia|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D8A8A74976408CF7EC329827AFFFD3FC/S0003055421001507a.pdf/div-class-title-why-botter-how-pro-government-bots-fight-opposition-in-russia-div.pdf|journal=American Political Science Review|location=Cambridge, England and New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association|volume=116|issue=1|pages=843–857|doi=10.1017/S0003055421001507|issn=1537-5943|lccn=08009025|oclc=805068983|access-date=10 March 2022|doi-access=free|author1-last=Stukal|author1-first=Denis|author2-last=Sanovich|author2-first=Sergey|author3-last=Bonneau|author3-first=Richard|author4-last=Tucker|author4-first=Joshua A.|s2cid=247038589|archive-date=1 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401073322/https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D8A8A74976408CF7EC329827AFFFD3FC/S0003055421001507a.pdf/div-class-title-why-botter-how-pro-government-bots-fight-opposition-in-russia-div.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=A Tweetbot Caught the Russian Gov't Editing Flight MH17 Wikipedia Info|first=Bob|last=Sorokanich|work=Gizmodo|date=July 18, 2014|url=https://gizmodo.com/a-tweetbot-caught-the-russian-govt-editing-flight-mh17-1607483459|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115045613/http://gizmodo.com/a-tweetbot-caught-the-russian-govt-editing-flight-mh17-1607483459|archive-date=15 November 2016|access-date=3 December 2016}}{{cite news|last=Dewey|first=Caitlin|date=21 July 2014|title=Flight MH17's Wikipedia page edited by Russian government; An IP address associated with Vladimir Putin's office has made multiple edits to the Wikipedia page for the MH17 flight page|work=Toronto Star|agency=The Washington Post|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/07/21/flight_mh17s_wikipedia_page_edited_from_ip_address_associated_with_putins_office.html|url-status=live|access-date=10 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141246/https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/07/21/flight_mh17s_wikipedia_page_edited_from_ip_address_associated_with_putins_office.html|archive-date=12 June 2018}}{{cite news|last=Zeveleva|first=Olga|date=6 August 2014|title=Knowledge is power: why is the Russian government editing Wikipedia?|work=The Calvert Journal|url=http://calvertjournal.com/comment/show/2967/wikipedia-russian-government-edits|url-status=live|access-date=3 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118071700/http://calvertjournal.com/comment/show/2967/wikipedia-russian-government-edits|archive-date=18 November 2016}} and the current Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022.{{cite magazine|last=Cole|first=Samantha|date=1 March 2022|title=Russia Threatens to Block Wikipedia for Stating Facts About Its War Casualties, Editors Say|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvnpq5/russia-threatens-to-block-wikipedia-for-stating-facts-about-its-war-casualties-editors-say|url-status=live|magazine=Vice|location=New York City|publisher=VICE Media|issn=1077-6788|oclc=30856250|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302065323/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvnpq5/russia-threatens-to-block-wikipedia-for-stating-facts-about-its-war-casualties-editors-say|archive-date=2 March 2022|access-date=2 March 2022}}

On 5 April 2013, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (better known as Roskomnadzor) confirmed that Wikipedia was blacklisted, stating that it had been "for a long time. I don't know why it's only now that they've woken up".{{cite news|date=5 April 2013|title=Russian media regulator confirms Wikipedia blacklisted|work=Russia Beyond The Headlines|agency=Interfax|url=http://rbth.ru/news/2013/04/05/russian_media_regulator_confirms_wikipedia_blacklisted_24706.html|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217111314/https://www.rbth.com/news/2013/04/05/russian_media_regulator_confirms_wikipedia_blacklisted_24706.html|archive-date=17 December 2021}} The same day, Roskomnadzor ordered the Russian Wikipedia to remove the article {{lang|ru|italic=no|cat=no|"Курение каннабиса"}} ("Cannabis smoking"), or else they would block the entirety of Wikipedia in Russia.{{cite news|date=6 May 2013|title=Russia May Block Wikipedia Access Over Narcotics Article|agency=RIA Novosti|url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130405/180469665.html|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410031251/http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130405/180469665.html|archive-date=10 April 2013}} Internet censorship became more common after a new law was passed around November 2013, allowing the government to block content deemed illegal or harmful to children.

On 18 August 2015, Roskomnadzor instructed Russian Wikipedia administrators to remove the article {{lang|ru|italic=no|cat=no|"Чарас (наркотическое вещество)"}} ("Charas (narcotic substance)"), about charas, a type of cannabis, by 21 August 2015 or else they would block Wikipedia (which they executed to a limited extent on 25 August).{{Cite news|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор готов заблокировать "Википедию"|trans-title=Roskomnadzor is ready to block Wikipedia|language=ru|work=Коммерсантъ|date=21 August 2015|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2794537|url-status=live|access-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804194543/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2794537|archive-date=4 August 2019}} The article was found by a Russian provincial court to contain a detailed description of how to make a narcotic, deeming it prohibited information.{{Cite web|title=Russia threatens to block Wikipedia over cannabis page|first=Zachary Davies|last=Boren|date=25 August 2015|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/russia-threatens-to-block-wikipedia-over-cannabis-page-10464894.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823004136/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/russia-threatens-to-block-wikipedia-over-cannabis-page-10464894.html|archive-date=23 August 2015|access-date=4 August 2019|website=The Independent|language=en}} Roskomnadzor explained that "insofar as Wikipedia has decided to function on the basis of https, which doesn't allow restricting to individual pages on its site, the entire website would be blocked" if they did not comply.{{Cite web|date=8 August 2015|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор пригрозил "Википедии" блокировкой|trans-title=Roskomnadzor threatens to block Wikipedia|url=https://ria.ru/20150820/1197278737.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804194537/https://ria.ru/20150820/1197278737.html|archive-date=4 August 2019|access-date=4 August 2019|website=RIA Novosti|language=ru}} In response to the impending block, the director of NP Wikimedia RU Vladimir Medeyko argued that the article had already been promptly and adequately rewritten to remove the controversial points and satisfy the order, using scientific articles and UN documents,{{Cite web|date=25 August 2015|script-title=ru:Спорную статью "Википедии" отредактировали сами пользователи|trans-title=Controversial Wikipedia article was edited by the users themselves|url=https://govoritmoskva.ru/news/50229/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621072014/https://govoritmoskva.ru/news/50229/|archive-date=21 June 2019|access-date=4 August 2019|script-website=ru:Говорит Москва|website=Govorit Moskva|language=ru}} and also attempted to preserve the text by transferring it to the article {{lang|ru|italic=no|cat=no|"Гашиш"}} ("Hashish"). Wikipedia representatives said if access was restricted, they would file a complaint to the prosecutor's office against Roskomnadzor and appeal the decision.{{Cite news|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор предписал заблокировать страницу "Википедии"|trans-title=Roskomnadzor ordered to block Wikipedia page|first=Roman|last=Rozhkov|date=24 August 2015|language=ru|work=Kommersant|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2795488|url-status=live|access-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804194536/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2795488|archive-date=4 August 2019}} Anticipating the ban, the Russian Wikipedia published a resource titled "What to do if Wikipedia was blocked".{{Cite news|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор удалил статью "Википедии" из реестра запрещенных сайтов|first=Alina|last=Sabitova|language=ru|work=Kommersant|date=25 August 2015|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2795794|url-status=live|access-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621070459/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2795794|archive-date=21 June 2019}} On 24 August, Roskomnadzor instructed Russian internet providers to block Wikipedia. By the night of 25 August, around 10–20% of Russian users had issues with accessing Wikipedia with access varying between regions and devices used.{{Cite web|script-title=ru:Российские провайдеры начали блокировку "Википедии"|trans-title=Russian ISPs start blocking Wikipedia|author=|date=25 August 2015|url=https://ria.ru/20150825/1205381104.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621065017/https://ria.ru/20150825/1205381104.html|archive-date=21 June 2019|access-date=4 August 2019|website=RIA Novosti|language=ru}} Also on the same date, the charas article was removed from the registry of banned sites. Roskomnadzor explained that they had "been informed by the Federal Drug Control Service that sufficient edits were made that met the conditions of court order".

In February and March 2022, in the first week following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and breakout of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian Wikipedia editors warned their readers and fellow editors of several, reiterated attempts by the Putin-led Russian government of political censorship, Internet propaganda, disinformation attacks, and disruptive editing towards an article listing of Russian military casualties as well as Ukrainian civilians and children due to the ongoing war. On 1 March 2022, Roskomnadzor threatened to block access to the Russian Wikipedia in Russia over the Russian-language article {{lang|ru|italic=no|cat=no|:ru:Вторжение России на Украину (2022)}} ("Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)"). Roskomnadzor claimed that the article contains "illegally distributed information", including "reports about numerous casualties among service personnel of the Russian Federation and also the civilian population of Ukraine, including children".{{Cite news|date=2022-03-01|title=Moscow threatens to block Russian-language Wikipedia over invasion article|author=|language=en|work=National Post|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/moscow-threatens-to-block-russian-language-wikipedia-over-invasion-article|access-date=2022-03-02|archive-date=1 March 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220301/https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/moscow-threatens-to-block-russian-language-wikipedia-over-invasion-article|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author=dsc|date=2022-03-02|title=Russland droht Wikipedia mit Sperre – wenn weiter über Kriegsopfer informiert wird|language=de|trans-title=Russia threatens to block Wikipedia – if they continue to inform about the casualties of the war|work=Watson|publisher=FixxPunkt AG|publication-place=Zürich, Switzerland|url=https://www.watson.ch/digital/russland/612989960-russland-droht-wikipedia-mit-sperre-wegen-infos-zu-kriegsopfern|url-status=live|access-date=2022-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320215105/https://www.watson.ch/digital/russland/612989960-russland-droht-wikipedia-mit-sperre-wegen-infos-zu-kriegsopfern|archive-date=2022-03-20}}{{cite news|agency=lha|date=2022-03-03|title=Informationskrieg: Russland will Wikipedia sperren|language=de|trans-title=Information war: Russia wants to block Wikipedia|work=netzwoche|publisher=Netzmedien AG|publication-place=Zürich, Switzerland|url=https://www.netzwoche.ch/news/2022-03-03/russland-will-wikipedia-sperren|url-status=live|access-date=2022-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320215308/https://www.netzwoche.ch/news/2022-03-03/russland-will-wikipedia-sperren|archive-date=2022-03-20|author-first1=Pascal|author-last1=Wojnarski}}{{cite news|date=2022-03-03|title=Ukraine-Krieg: Russische Medienaufsicht droht mit Wikipedia-Sperre|language=de|trans-title=Ukraine-War: Russian media regulation threatens to block Wikipedia|work=heise online|publisher=Heise Medien / Heise Gruppe GmbH & Co. KG|publication-place=Hannover, Germany|url=https://www.heise.de/news/Ukraine-Krieg-Russische-Medienaufsicht-droht-mit-Wikipedia-Sperre-6535734.html|url-status=live|access-date=2022-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320215611/https://www.heise.de/news/Ukraine-Krieg-Russische-Medienaufsicht-droht-mit-Wikipedia-Sperre-6535734.html|archive-date=2022-03-20|author-first=Torsten|author-last=Kleinz}}

On 31 March 2022, Roskomnadzor threatened to fine Wikipedia up to 4{{nbsp}}million rubles (about $49,000) if it did not delete information about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that is "misinforming" Russians.{{Cite web|last1=Saul|first1=Derek|date=31 March 2022|title=Russia Demands Wikipedia Take Down Information About Ukraine War|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/03/31/russia-demands-wikipedia-take-down-information-about-ukraine-war/?sh=746e1cec66f2|access-date=1 April 2022|work=Forbes|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331223759/https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/03/31/russia-demands-wikipedia-take-down-information-about-ukraine-war/?sh=746e1cec66f2|url-status=live}}

In April–May 2022, the Russian authorities put several Wikipedia articles on their list of forbidden sites. The list included the articles 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ruscism,{{Cite web|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор обязал поисковики маркировать "Википедию" как нарушителя российских законов из‑за неудаления статей о войне в Украине|trans-title=Roskomnadzor orders search engines to label Wikipedia as violating Russian laws for failing to remove articles about the war in Ukraine|url=https://zona.media/news/2022/07/20/wikipedia|access-date=2022-07-20|df=dmy-all|website=Mediazona|language=ru|archive-date=20 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720153748/https://zona.media/news/2022/07/20/wikipedia/|url-status=live}} several articles in Russian Wikipedia devoted to the military action and war crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine,{{Cite news|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор потребовал от "Википедии" удалить пять статей про военные преступления в Украине|trans-title=Roskomnadzor demands Wikipedia remove five articles about war crimes in Ukraine|url=https://zona.media/news/2022/04/04/viki|access-date=2022-04-04|website=Mediazona|language=ru|archive-date=4 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704105940/https://zona.media/news/2022/04/04/viki/|url-status=live}} and two sections of the Russian article about Vladimir Putin.{{Cite web|script-title=ru:РКН потребовал от "Википедии" удалить из статьи про Путина разделы об Украине|trans-title=RKN demands Wikipedia to remove sections about Ukraine from articles about Putin|url=https://zona.media/news/2022/04/13/wiki|access-date=2022-04-13|website=Mediazona|language=ru|archive-date=20 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720153743/https://zona.media/news/2022/04/13/wiki|url-status=live}}

On 20 July 2022, due to the refusal of Wikipedia to remove the articles about the Russian-Ukrainian war, Roskomnadzor ordered search engines to mark Wikipedia as a violator of Russian laws.{{Cite news|title=Russia to punish Wikimedia Foundation over Ukraine conflict 'fakes'|editor-first=Guy|editor-last=Faulconbridge|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-wikimedia/russia-to-punish-wikimedia-foundation-over-ukraine-conflict-fakes-idUSKBN2OV0LB|access-date=2022-07-20|website=Reuters|date=20 July 2022|language=en|archive-date=20 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720085233/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-wikimedia/russia-to-punish-wikimedia-foundation-over-ukraine-conflict-fakes-idUSKBN2OV0LB|url-status=live}}{{Cite press release|script-title=ru:Роскомнадзор принял меры в отношении Wikimedia Foundation|trans-title=Roskomnadzor takes action against Wikimedia Foundation|date=20 July 2022|url=https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news74404.htm|access-date=2022-07-20|agency=Roskomnadzor|language=ru|archive-date=20 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720115326/https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news74404.htm|url-status=dead}}

On 1 November 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation was fined 2{{nbsp}}million rubles by a Russian court for not deleting two articles on Russian Wikipedia.{{cite news|date=1 November 2022|title=Russia fines Wikimedia Foundation over Ukraine war entries|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-fines-wikimedia-foundation-over-ukraine-war-entries-2022-11-01/|access-date=1 November 2022|archive-date=28 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228183917/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-fines-wikimedia-foundation-over-ukraine-war-entries-2022-11-01/|url-status=live}} On 13 April 2023, the Wikimedia Foundation was again fined by a Russian court.{{cite Q|Q117785765|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421044533/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/russian-court-fines-wikipedia-article-ukraine-war-98567180|archive-date=21 April 2023}}

In December 2023, Stanislav Kozlovsky, Wikimedia Russia's director, was listed as a "foreign agent" by the Justice Ministry of Russia. Moscow University, where he taught, expelled him. Wikimedia Russia was forced to disband.{{Cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/19/wikimedia-russia-shuts-down-amid-foreign-agent-threats-a83487|title=Wikimedia Russia Shuts Down Amid 'Foreign Agent' Threats|author=|work=The Moscow Times|date=2023-12-19|access-date=20 December 2023|archive-date=27 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127214950/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/19/wikimedia-russia-shuts-down-amid-foreign-agent-threats-a83487|url-status=live}}

In February 2024, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky suggested that 99% of the articles on Wikipedia were "absolutely neutral and even interesting", but 1% of articles were "enemy slander". He also encouraged the idea of a native Russian online encyclopedia alternative based on the content of Wikipedia.{{cite news|url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/02/15/russian-presidential-aide-suggests-copying-wikipedia-in-its-entirety-for-russian-analog|title=Russian presidential aide suggests copying Wikipedia in its entirety for Russian analog|work=Meduza|date=February 15, 2024|access-date=8 September 2024}}

{{further|Internet censorship in Saudi Arabia}}

File:Blocked website saudi.jpg

On 11 July 2006, the Saudi government blocked access to Wikipedia and Google Translate for what it said was sexual and politically sensitive content.{{cite web|title=What is Wrong with Wikipedia? |first=Hassna'a|last=Mokhtar|date=19 July 2006|url=http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=85616&d=19&m=7&y=2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807060237/http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=85616&d=19&m=7&y=2006|archive-date=7 August 2011|website=Arab News}}{{cite web|title=Saudi Arabia Blocks Google and Wikipedia|website=SIA News|publisher=Saudi Information Agency|date=July 14, 2006|url=http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=189&sid=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203072715/http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=189&sid=2|archive-date=3 February 2012|access-date=23 September 2011}} Google Translate was being used to bypass the filters on the blocked sites by translating them. Though Wikipedia is not blocked currently, specific pages on Wikipedia were reported to be censored by Saudi Arabia in 2011, such as one page discussing the theory of evolution.{{Cite web|last1=Zittrain|first1=Jonathan L.|last2=Tilton|first2=Casey B.|last3=Noman |first3=Helmi|last4=Morrison-Westphal|first4=Ryan J.|last5=Faris|first5=Robert M.|last6=Clark|first6=Justin D.|date=2017|title=The Shifting Landscape of Global Internet Censorship|publisher=Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society|url=https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/33084425|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=New Berkman Klein Center study examines global internet censorship|date=29 June 2017|first=Carolyn|last=Kelley|url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/new-berkman-klein-center-study-examines-global-internet-censorship/|website=Harvard Law Today}} Encrypted connections over HTTPS made censorship more difficult for these pages and today there is no evidence that individual pages are still being blocked.

In September 2020, two Wikipedia volunteer administrators were arrested on the same day: Osama Khalid was sentenced to 32 years in prison while Ziyad al-Sofiani was sentenced to eight years, according to Smex, a Lebanese NGO to advance self-regulating information societies in the Arab-speaking world, and Democracy for the Arab World Now. A subsequent investigation by the Wikimedia Foundation identified 16 users who seemed to routinely engage in conflict-of-interest editing—reportedly including spying for the Saudi government.{{cite Q|Q116039713}}{{cite magazine|date=12 February 2014|title=In the Middle East, Arabic Wikipedia Is a Flashpoint – And a Beacon|first=Alice|last=Su|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/02/arabic-wikipedia/|url-status=live|magazine=Wired|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624175410/https://www.wired.com/2014/02/arabic-wikipedia/|archive-date=24 June 2018|access-date=24 June 2018}}{{Cite web|title=Saudi Arabia: Freedom on the Net 2023 Country Report|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia/freedom-net/2023|access-date=2024-05-17|website=Freedom House|language=en}}

{{further|Internet censorship in Syria}}

Access to the Arabic Wikipedia was blocked in Syria between 30 April 2008 and 13{{nbsp}}February 2009, although other language editions remained accessible.{{cite web|author=Institute for War and Peace Reporting|date=3 June 2008|title=Syrian youth break through internet blocks|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch-Archive/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=88422|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402214110/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch-Archive/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=88422|archive-date=2 April 2012|access-date=1 February 2010}}{{in lang|ar}} [http://www.menassat.com/?q=ar/alerts/3726- Arabic Wikipedia Disappears From The Internet in Syria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511020748/http://www.menassat.com/?q=ar%2Falerts%2F3726-|date=2021-05-11}}, Menassat, 19 May 2008{{failed verification|reason=Not in Arabic, doesn't mention Wikipedia|date=September 2024}}

Bassel Khartabil ({{langx|ar|باسل خرطبيل}}) was a contributor to a number of open-source projects including Wikipedia; his arrest in 2012 was likely connected to his online activity. He was executed at Adra Prison near Damascus in 2015.{{Cite news|date=2017-08-02|title=Bassel Khartabil: Syrian internet freedom activist 'executed'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40795739|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315024202/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40795739|archive-date=2023-03-15|access-date=2023-03-15|work=BBC News|language=en-GB}} Several organizations, including the Wikimedia Foundation, established the Bassel Khartabil Free Culture Fellowship in his honor in 2017, for an initial period of three years.{{Cite web|last1=Maher|first1=Katherine|last2=Merkley|first2=Ryan|last3=Surman|first3=Mark|date=2017-08-11|title=Honoring our friend Bassel: Announcing the Bassel Khartabil Free Culture Fellowship|url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2017/08/11/bassel-khartabil-free-culture-fellowship/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203232745/https://diff.wikimedia.org/2017/08/11/bassel-khartabil-free-culture-fellowship/|archive-date=2023-02-03|access-date=2023-03-15|website=Diff|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation|language=en-US}}

{{further|Internet censorship in Tunisia}}

The Wikipedia website was inaccessible from Tunisia between 23 and {{nowrap|27 November 2006}}.{{cite web|url=http://globalvoicesonline.org/2006/11/26/tunisia-censoring-wikipedia/|title=Tunisia: Censoring Wikipedia?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626111628/http://globalvoicesonline.org/2006/11/26/tunisia-censoring-wikipedia/|archive-date=26 June 2015|first=Alice|last=Backer|website=Global Voices|date=27 November 2006|access-date=8 September 2024}}

{{Main|Block of Wikipedia in Turkey}}

{{wikinews|Turkey blocks Wikipedia, alleging smear campaign}}

In the early hours of 29 April 2017, monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified loss of access to all language editions of Wikipedia throughout Turkey.{{Cite web|date=29 April 2017|title=Wikipedia blocked in Turkey|url=https://turkeyblocks.org/2017/04/29/wikipedia-blocked-turkey/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501075115/https://turkeyblocks.org/2017/04/29/wikipedia-blocked-turkey/|archive-date=1 May 2017|access-date=1 May 2017|website=Turkey Blocks}}{{cite news|date=29 April 2017|title=Turkish authorities block Wikipedia without giving reason|newspaper=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39754909|url-status=live|access-date=29 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429112030/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39754909|archive-date=29 April 2017}} The block came after Turkish authorities demanded Wikipedia "remove content by writers supporting terror and of linking Turkey to terror groups", a demand for which the government stated that it did not receive a satisfactory response.{{cite news|date=29 April 2017|title=Wikipedia blocked across Turkey|newspaper=Hürriyet Daily News|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/wikipedia-blocked-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=112556&NewsCatID=341|url-status=live|access-date=29 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806063604/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/wikipedia-blocked-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=112556&NewsCatID=341|archive-date=6 August 2017}}

Starting on 17 November 2014, Turkey had only censored specific articles on Turkish Wikipedia, such as {{lang|tr|italic=no|cat=no|"2015 Türkiye genel seçim anketleri"}} ("2015 Turkey general election polls") and articles related to reproductive organs. There was no court decision for this censorship. One Turkish internet provider, TTNET, speculated that Wikipedia was broken. Katherine Maher from the Wikimedia Foundation said this did not reflect the truth.{{cite web|date=19 June 2015|title=Vikipedi sansüre isyan etti|trans-title=Wikipedia rebels against censorship|first=Onur|last=Erem|url=http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/vikipedi-sansure-isyan-etti-83076.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504112939/http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/vikipedi-sansure-isyan-etti-83076.html|archive-date=4 May 2017|access-date=29 April 2017|website=BirGün|language=tr}}

In December 2019, the Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled that the two and a half-year block was unconstitutional. On 15 January 2020, it was reported to the Wikimedia Foundation that access to the website was being restored.{{cite press release|author=|title=Access to Wikipedia restored in Turkey after more than two and a half years|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2020/01/16/access-to-wikipedia-restored-in-turkey-after-more-than-two-and-a-half-years/|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation|date=16 October 2020|access-date=16 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116065452/https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2020/01/16/access-to-wikipedia-restored-in-turkey-after-more-than-two-and-a-half-years/|archive-date=16 January 2020|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Erkoyun|first1=Ezgi|last2=Sezer|first2=Can|last3=Buter|first3=Darren|last4=Kucukgocmen|first4=Ali|date=15 January 2020|title=Turkey ban on Wikipedia lifted after court ruling|language=en|work=Reuters World News|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-wikipedia/turkey-ban-on-wikipedia-set-to-be-lifted-after-court-ruling-issued-idUSKBN1ZE0BX?il=0|url-status=live|access-date=16 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523232748/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-wikipedia/turkey-ban-on-wikipedia-set-to-be-lifted-after-court-ruling-issued-idUSKBN1ZE0BX?il=0|archive-date=23 May 2020}}

{{see also|Internet censorship in the United States}}

File:Letter from interim US attorney for DC Ed Martin to Wikimedia Foundation 2025.pdf

In April 2025, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin sent a letter to Wikimedia Foundation, in which he accused the Foundation of "allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda" and questioned its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=April 25, 2025 |title=Trump DOJ goon threatens Wikipedia |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/656720/ed-martin-dc-attorney-wikipedia-nonprofit-threat |access-date=April 26, 2025 |website=The Verge |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250425224252/https://www.theverge.com/news/656720/ed-martin-dc-attorney-wikipedia-nonprofit-threat |archive-date=April 25, 2025 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Oremus |first1=Will |last2=Mark |first2=Julian |date=April 25, 2025 |title=Wikipedia's nonprofit status questioned by D.C. U.S. attorney |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/25/wikipedia-nonprofit-ed-martin-letter/ |access-date=April 26, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426040623/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/25/wikipedia-nonprofit-ed-martin-letter/ |archive-date=April 26, 2025 |url-status=live }}

{{further|Human rights in Uzbekistan#Internet}}

The entirety of Wikipedia was briefly blocked twice in Uzbekistan, in 2007 and 2008.{{cite news|date=17 February 2012|title=Uzbekistan Blocks Its Wikipedia|agency=RIA Novosti|url=http://en.ria.ru/world/20120217/171367528.html|url-status=live|access-date=21 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219215312/http://en.ria.ru/world/20120217/171367528.html|archive-date=19 February 2012}} Blocking of the Uzbek Wikipedia caught the attention of the international press in late February 2012.{{cite news|date=16 February 2012|script-title=uz:Ўзбекистонда ўзбекча Wikipedia тўсиб қўйилди|language=uz|trans-title=Uzbek Wikipedia is blocked in Uzbekistan|script-website=uz:Озодлик Радиоси|trans-website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=http://www.ozodlik.org/content/article/24486333.html|url-status=live|access-date=14 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528032610/http://www.ozodlik.org/content/article/24486333.html|archive-date=28 May 2012|newspaper=Озодлик Радиоси}} Internet users in Uzbekistan trying to access Uzbek-language pages were redirected to MSN. Users in Uzbekistan could easily open Wikipedia articles in other languages. Only Uzbek-language articles were blocked.{{cite news|date=16 February 2012|title=Wikipedia Articles in Uzbek Blocked|author=RFE/RL's Uzbek Service|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbek_wikipedia_blocked/24486460.html|url-status=live|access-date=21 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221030727/http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbek_wikipedia_blocked/24486460.html|archive-date=21 February 2012}} Today, Uzbek users can access Uzbek-language articles without problems. In 2022, the Uzbek government co-hosted the WikiStipendiya article creation editathon with the Uzbek community.

{{main|Block of Wikipedia in Venezuela}}

{{See also|Censorship in Venezuela}}

File:Netblocks-venezuela-wikipedia-block.png

In the evening of 12 January 2019, the NetBlocks internet observatory collected technical evidence of the blocking of all editions of Wikipedia in Venezuela. The restrictions were implemented by CANTV, the largest telecommunications provider in the country. NetBlocks identified a major network disruption affecting telecommunications infrastructure, which coincided with other restrictions affecting Venezuelans' ability to communicate and access information during the previous 24 hours. The collected data also showed that a number of local websites had been recently restricted, indicating that recent political instability could be the underlying cause{{Cite web|date=15 January 2019|title=Venezuela's crisis of political legitimacy has rocked Wikipedia – and might have led to its blocking|url=https://globalvoices.org/2019/01/15/venezuelas-crisis-of-political-legitimacy-has-rocked-wikipedia-and-might-have-led-to-its-blocking/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121132232/https://globalvoices.org/2019/01/15/venezuelas-crisis-of-political-legitimacy-has-rocked-wikipedia-and-might-have-led-to-its-blocking/|archive-date=21 January 2019|access-date=21 January 2019|website=Global Voices|language=en}} for what may be a tightening regime of internet control.{{Cite web|date=12 January 2019|title=Wikipedia blocked in Venezuela as internet controls tighten|url=https://netblocks.org/reports/wikipedia-blocked-in-venezuela-as-internet-controls-tighten-XaAwR08M|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113134629/https://netblocks.org/reports/wikipedia-blocked-in-venezuela-as-internet-controls-tighten-XaAwR08M|archive-date=13 January 2019|access-date=13 January 2019|website=NetBlocks|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|date=13 January 2019|title=Venezuela Blocks Wikipedia After Maduro 'Ousted' From Article, Internet Watchdog Says|first=Omer|last=Benjakob|language=en|work=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/internet-watchdog-venezuela-blocks-wikipedia-after-maduro-ousted-from-article-1.6831777|url-status=live|access-date=13 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114021216/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/internet-watchdog-venezuela-blocks-wikipedia-after-maduro-ousted-from-article-1.6831777|archive-date=14 January 2019}}

Individual articles can be disputed or blocked by a country for allegedly violating a range of laws from revealing the location of a secret military installation (see France below), defamation or misinformation laws (see Germany below), or a judgment that an image in an article was pornographic (see UK below).

In 2018, County Court of Victoria chief judge Peter Kidd placed a non-publication order on all of the evidence and the verdict in a trial of Australian Cardinal George Pell. The suppression order applied "in all Australian states and territories" and "on any website or other electronic or broadcast format accessible within Australia".{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47366083|title=Why was Pell's conviction kept secret?|date=26 February 2019|work=BBC|access-date=22 September 2019|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918213406/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47366083|archive-date=18 September 2019|url-status=live}} This clearly included Wikipedia, which was cited but not charged.{{Cite news|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2019-08-30/Op-Ed&oldid=913871017|title=Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2019-08-30/Op-Ed|date=3 September 2019|work=Signpost|access-date=22 September 2019|language=en|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217111310/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3AWikipedia_Signpost%2F2019-08-30%2FOp-Ed&oldid=913871017|url-status=live}}

{{further|Internet censorship in France}}

File:RemiMathisWMFr.jpg, an administrator on the French Wikipedia, was ordered by the French interior intelligence agency to delete an article.]]

In April 2013, a Wikipedia article describing the Pierre-sur-Haute military radio station attracted attention from the French interior intelligence agency DCRI. The agency attempted to have the article about the facility removed from the French Wikipedia. The DCRI pressured Rémi Mathis, a volunteer administrator of the French Wikipedia and resident of France, into deleting the article.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/07/french-secret-service-wikipedia-page|title=French secret service accused of censorship over Wikipedia page|last1=Willsher|first1=Kim|date=7 April 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511180615/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/07/french-secret-service-wikipedia-page|archive-date=11 May 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Franzoesischer-Geheimdienst-verlangt-Loeschung-eines-Wikipedia-Artikels-1836501.html|title=Französischer Geheimdienst verlangt Löschung eines Wikipedia-Artikels|trans-title=French secret service forces deletion of a Wikipedia article|last1=Kleinz|first1=Torsten|date=6 April 2013|work=Heise Online|publisher=Heise|language=de|access-date=5 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621072006/https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Franzoesischer-Geheimdienst-verlangt-Loeschung-eines-Wikipedia-Artikels-1836501.html|archive-date=21 June 2019|url-status=live}} The Wikimedia Foundation asked the DCRI which parts of the article were causing a problem, noting that the article closely reflected information in a 2004 documentary made by {{lang|fr|Télévision Loire 7}}, a French local television station, which is freely available online.{{cite news|language=fr|first=Guerric|last=Poncet|title=Wikipédia et DCRI: la chaîne locale 's'attend' à être censurée|trans-title=Wikipedia and DCRI: local channel 'expects' to be censored|work=Le Point|location=Paris|date=9 April 2013|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/guerric-poncet/wikipedia-et-dcri-la-chaine-locale-s-attend-a-etre-censuree-09-04-2013-1652341_506.php|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022032824/http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/guerric-poncet/wikipedia-et-dcri-la-chaine-locale-s-attend-a-etre-censuree-09-04-2013-1652341_506.php|archive-date=22 October 2017|url-status=live}} The DCRI refused to give these details, and repeated its demand for deletion of the article. According to a statement issued by Wikimédia France on 6 April 2013:

{{blockquote|The DCRI summoned a Wikipedia volunteer in their offices on April 4th [2013]. This volunteer, which was one of those having access to the tools that allow the deletion of pages, was forced to delete the article while in the DCRI offices, on the understanding that he would have been held in custody and prosecuted if he did not comply. Under pressure, he had no other choice than to delete the article, despite explaining to the DCRI this is not how Wikipedia works. He warned the other sysops that trying to undelete the article would engage their responsibility before the law. This volunteer had no link with that article, having never edited it and not even knowing of its existence before entering the DCRI offices. He was chosen and summoned because he was easily identifiable, given his regular promotional actions of Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects in France.|Wikimédia France}}

Later, the article was restored by another Wikipedia contributor who lived outside France, in Switzerland.{{cite press release|url=http://blog.wikimedia.fr/dcri-threat-a-sysop-to-delete-a-wikipedia-article-5493|publisher=Wikimédia France|title=French homeland intelligence threatens a volunteer sysop to delete a Wikipedia Article|date=6 April 2013|access-date=6 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420062213/http://blog.wikimedia.fr/dcri-threat-a-sysop-to-delete-a-wikipedia-article-5493|archive-date=20 April 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/04/06/la-dcri-accusee-d-avoir-force-illegalement-la-suppression-d-un-article-de-wikipedia_3155405_651865.html|title=La DCRI accusée d'avoir illégalement forcé la suppression d'un article de Wikipédia|trans-title=DCRI accused of illegally forcing the deletion of a Wikipedia article|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621065003/https://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/04/06/la-dcri-accusee-d-avoir-force-illegalement-la-suppression-d-un-article-de-wikipedia_3155405_651865.html|archive-date=21 June 2019|work=Le Monde|date=6 April 2013 |language=fr}} As a result of the controversy, the article became the most read page on the French Wikipedia,{{cite news|last=Geuss|first=Megan|title=Wikipedia editor allegedly forced by French intelligence to delete 'classified' entry|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/wikipedia-editor-allegedly-forced-by-french-intelligence-to-delete-classified-entry/|access-date=7 April 2013|newspaper=Ars Technica|date=6 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408210234/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/wikipedia-editor-allegedly-forced-by-french-intelligence-to-delete-classified-entry/|archive-date=8 April 2013|url-status=live}} with over 120,000 page views during the weekend of 6–7 April 2013.{{cite web|url=http://stats.grok.se/fr/201304/Station_hertzienne_militaire_de_Pierre-sur-Haute|title=Wikipedia article traffic statistics for 'Station hertzienne militaire de Pierre-sur-Haute'|work=stats.grok.se|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414092622/http://stats.grok.se/fr/201304/Station_hertzienne_militaire_de_Pierre-sur-Haute|archive-date=14 April 2013}} It was translated into multiple other languages.List of translations on Wikidata{{user-generated source|date=November 2021}} The French newspaper {{lang|fr|20 minutes}},{{cite news|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/web/1132567-20130406-dcri-accusee-avoir-exige-suppression-article-wikipedia|title=La DCRI accusée d'avoir fait pression pour obtenir la suppression d'un article Wikipedia|trans-title=DCRI accused of pressuring to have Wikipedia article deleted|work=20 minutes|date=6 April 2013|language=fr|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408233040/http://www.20minutes.fr/web/1132567-20130406-dcri-accusee-avoir-exige-suppression-article-wikipedia|archive-date=8 April 2013|url-status=live}} Ars Technica, and a posting on Slashdot,{{cite web|author=((saibot834))|date=6 April 2013|title=French intelligence agency forces removal of Wikipedia entry|url=http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/04/06/139216/french-intelligence-agency-forces-removal-of-wikipedia-entry|publisher=Slashdot|access-date=7 April 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130409072344/http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/04/06/139216/french-intelligence-agency-forces-removal-of-wikipedia-entry|archive-date=9 April 2013 |url-status=live}} noted it as an example of the Streisand effect in action. The French Ministry of the Interior told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that it did not wish to comment on the incident.{{cite news|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/societe/20130406.AFP8963/la-dcri-accusee-d-avoir-fait-supprimer-un-article-sur-wikipedia.html|title=La DCRI accusée d'avoir fait supprimer un article sur Wikipedia|language=fr|trans-title=DCRI accused of having an article deleted from Wikipedia|work=Le nouvel Observateur|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=6 April 2013|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409033035/http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/societe/20130406.AFP8963/la-dcri-accusee-d-avoir-fait-supprimer-un-article-sur-wikipedia.html|archive-date=9 April 2013|url-status=live}}

According to a judicial source quoted in an AFP story on 8 April, the article's deletion "was performed as part of a preliminary inquiry" led by the "anti-terrorist section of the Paris prosecutor's office" on the grounds that the French language Wikipedia article compromised "classified material related to the chain of transmission for nuclear launch orders".{{cite news|language=fr|agency=CP|first=Anne-Claire|last=Huet|url=http://lci.tf1.fr/france/faits-divers/le-retrait-de-l-article-wikipedia-demande-dans-le-cadre-d-une-enquete-7917906.html|title=Le retrait de l'article Wikipedia demandé dans le cadre d'une enquête préliminaire|work=La Chaîne Info|date=8 April 2013|access-date=9 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408205540/http://lci.tf1.fr/france/faits-divers/le-retrait-de-l-article-wikipedia-demande-dans-le-cadre-d-une-enquete-7917906.html|archive-date=8 April 2013}}

Following the incident, {{lang|fr|Télévision Loire 7}} said that it expected that the DCRI would request that it take down the original 2004 report on which the Wikipedia article was based, though it had been filmed and broadcast with the full cooperation of the French armed forces. The National Union of Police Commissioners suggested that the next step would be for the judiciary to order French Internet service providers to block access to the Wikipedia article.{{cite news|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/guerric-poncet/un-syndicat-de-police-demande-le-filtrage-de-wikipedia-10-04-2013-1652817_506.php|title=Un syndicat de police évoque le filtrage de Wikipédia|work=Le Point|last=Poncet|first=Guerric|date=10 April 2013|access-date=10 April 2013|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412045908/http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/guerric-poncet/un-syndicat-de-police-demande-le-filtrage-de-wikipedia-10-04-2013-1652817_506.php|archive-date=12 April 2013|url-status=live}} However, the France-based NGO Reporters Without Borders criticised the DCRI's actions as "a bad precedent". The organisation's spokesperson told {{lang|fr|Le Point}} that, "if the institution considers that secret defence information has been released, it has every opportunity to be recognised by the courts in arguing and clarifying its application. It is then up to the judge, the protector of fundamental freedoms, to assess the reality and extent of military secrecy." The spokesperson noted that the information contained in the article had come from a documentary that had previously been filmed and distributed with the cooperation of the army, and that the hosts and intermediaries should not be held responsible.{{cite news|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/guerric-poncet/rsf-denonce-les-manoeuvres-de-la-dcri-contre-wikipedia-10-04-2013-1652880_506.php|title=RSF dénonce les 'manoeuvres de la DCRI' contre Wikipédia|work=Le Point|last=Poncet|first=Guerric|date=10 April 2013|access-date=10 April 2013|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412214036/http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/guerric-poncet/rsf-denonce-les-manoeuvres-de-la-dcri-contre-wikipedia-10-04-2013-1652880_506.php|archive-date=12 April 2013|url-status=live}}

In one case, Wikipedia.de (an Internet domain run by Wikimedia Deutschland) was prohibited from pointing to the actual Wikipedia content. The court order was a temporary injunction in a case filed by politician Lutz Heilmann over claims regarding his past involvement with the former German Democratic Republic's intelligence service Stasi.{{cite web|url=http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/node/5928|title=German Court Orders to Block Wikipedia.de Due to Offending Article|author=Efroni, Zohar|work=Center for Internet and Society Blog|publisher=Stanford University Law School|date=16 November 2008|access-date=18 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722080716/http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/node/5928|archive-date=22 July 2010|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Internet censorship in the United Kingdom|Internet Watch Foundation and Wikipedia}}

File:VK WikipediaBlock.png

In December 2008, the Internet Watch Foundation, a UK-based non-government organization, added the Wikipedia article Virgin Killer to its internet blacklist due to the album cover's image and the illegality of child pornography in that country; the image had been assessed by IWF as being the lowest level of legal concern: "erotic posing with no sexual activity".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/dec/08/amazon-internet-censorship-iwf|title=Wikipedia row escalates as internet watchdog considers censoring Amazon US over Scorpions image|last=Arthur|first=Charles|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|date=8 December 2008|access-date=8 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905084947/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/dec/08/amazon-internet-censorship-iwf|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}} As a result, people using many major UK ISPs were blocked from viewing the entire article by the Cleanfeed system,{{cite news|title=Wikipedia child image censored|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7770456.stm|work=BBC News|date=8 December 2008|access-date=8 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209052140/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7770456.stm|archive-date=9 December 2008|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLhtaFheXFcickVqO0crbKo1IiawD94U23N87|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210081354/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLhtaFheXFcickVqO0crbKo1IiawD94U23N87|title=AP: Wikipedia article blocked in UK over child photo|archive-date=10 December 2008}} and a large part of the UK was blocked from editing Wikipedia owing to the means used by the IWF to block the image. Following discussion, representations by the Wikimedia Foundation,[https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Censorship_of_WP_in_the_UK_Dec_2008 "Censorship in the United Kingdom disenfranchises tens of thousands of Wikipedia editors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929041240/https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Censorship_of_WP_in_the_UK_Dec_2008|date=29 September 2018}}, Wikimedia Foundation press release, 7 December 2008 and public complaints,[http://news.zdnet.co.uk/leader/0,1000002982,39574104,00.htm ZDNet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219114249/http://news.zdnet.co.uk/leader/0,1000002982,39574104,00.htm|date=19 February 2009}} cites "floods of angry users". the IWF reversed their decision three days later, and confirmed that in future they would not block copies of the same image that were hosted overseas.{{cite web|url=http://www.iwf.org.uk/media/news.archive-2008.251.htm|title=IWF statement regarding Wikipedia webpage|work=Internet Watch Foundation|access-date=9 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607023004/http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.archive-2008.251.htm|archive-date=7 June 2009}}

{{Portal|Freedom of speech|Internet|Wikipedia}}

• Conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia
• {{Slink|Criticism of Wikipedia|Sexual content}}
• Deletionism and inclusionism in Wikipedia
• Ideological bias on Wikipedia
• {{Slink|Internet censorship|Wikipedia}}
• List of people imprisoned for editing Wikipedia
• Asian News International vs. Wikimedia Foundation

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Meta|Wikimedia projects blocks}}

• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021900851.html Full Text: Cui Objects to Wikipedia Shutdown] (translated by The Washington Post Beijing Bureau)
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021800672.html Full Text: Shi's Defense of Wikipedia] (translated by The Washington Post Beijing Bureau)

{{Censorship and websites}}

{{Wikipediahistory}}

{{Internet censorship circumvention technologies}}

{{Wikimedia Foundation}}

Category:Academic freedom

Category:Digital rights

Category:Freedom of speech

Category:Freedom of information