I’m aware that a significant minority of national governments, China being among the most prominent in this Olympic year, use so-called “net nannies” to keep their people from reading, watching or hearing political viewpoints which would endanger the ruling party’s hold on the throne. I’ve recently been made aware that there are quite a few reliable methods to circumvent such censorship.
My question is, does circumventing government Internet censorship tend to put your life in danger? Are people thrown in jail for using these systems? Are people hanged for it? How much does this vary from one country to another, and why?
This article from The Atlantic Monthly indicates that in China, at least, there’s no huge danger of being hanged. The point is just to make looking up dangerous stuff enough of a pain that not many people will go to the trouble.
I can find no laws against bypassing the filter itself. However punishments exist for possesing certain content obtained over the Internet, even in the US.
