Restrictions Affecting New Zealanders´ Access to the Internet: A Local Study

The advent of the Internet has provided people around the world with access to information and services from across the globe that is published without any mediation by governments or other agencies. However, access to this information and services may be restricted within the viewer´s own country by their Government, Internet Service Providers, employers and families among others. The motivations for restrictions on access may involve politics and power, social norms and morals, security concerns, or protecting intellectual property rights and economic interests. This filtering or service blocking, whether for security or for network efficiency, has significant effects on people´s access to services and information, which may not be considered when implementing restrictions. Although studies have been conducted about Internet blocking in many countries, no one has yet examined what is being filtered or blocked in New Zealand. This paper describes a tool we have developed to investigate this issue and the results from an initial study examining organizations providing wireless access within Wellington, New Zealand.