[JURIST] A study released Friday by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) [advocacy website] has found a "substantial growth in the scale, scope and sophistication" of Internet censorship [JURIST news archive] worldwide. The study, focusing on state-mandated censorship, found evidence of content filtering in 25 of 41 countries tested. The study found that states generally justified censorship as protecting property rights and national security, preserving cultural and religious values, and fighting pornography and child exploitation. Internet censorship was noted in the following states: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

The ONI is a collaborative partnership of academics from the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School; the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme, University of Cambridge; and the Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University [university websites]. BBC News has more.