Jillian York is also a member of the OpenNet Initiative, a group that studies Internet censorship and spying.

VOA: special.2011.02.07

By contrast, a 2002 study found that only two countries censored the Web, says Palfrey, who is also an investigator at OpenNet.

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According to a 2007 report by the OpenNet Initiative, which surveyed more than 40 countries, almost two-thirds of the states involved were filtering content to some degree.

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Now, that curtain has risen slightly: Users can again send e-mail and access the Web, according to Ron Deibert, director at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab and an investigator at the OpenNet Initiative.

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