Photo by ShareGrid on Unsplash
In brief:
- The media operations in Belarus has witnessed an unprecedented turn towards decentralization ever since an attack was made on the accreditation of foreign journalists.
- To make mobile applications robust, some media agencies have started using NewNode.
- This censorship has widely influenced media operations and is being termed as a global phenomenon.
The government in Belarus, headed by President Alexander Lukashenko, announced a ban on the independence of foreign journalists by posing a strict restriction on internet usage. The censorship was implemented in Belarus with the aim of refraining the citizens from accessing any local media channels whatsoever.
However, Internet censorship has encouraged VPN and NewNode usage as people are curious to stay online for business and personal interests. While VPN has succeeded in helping the users with online operations, NewNode has helped users in sharing the files in a P2P fashion.
New Node is a technology that allows a user to connect with the other user’s network. In simple words, if someone is unable to connect with the network while the other person has connected successfully, one can connect directly to the latter’s network and use it. But, the operations would fail miserably if there’s a complete internet shutdown. Therefore, NewNode is being considered as a potential candidate for an effective solution by the Belarus folks.
According to the CEO of Clostra, NewNode devices will be able to connect easily with each other and construct a network to help others in receiving the content with even minimal Internet access. He also termed it as a “self-healing” network that can scale easily with increment in the number of available devices. Due to the election campaign, Clostra has been able to invite a substantial user base. Also, VPN has surged in usage and popularity in Belarus as people are inventing ways to visit online platforms.
Although NewNode has served as a solution in the internet breakdown, it cannot be accepted as the perfect solution because individuals who are transmitting the data to others can face severe financial pressures and traffic congestion. Bluetooth could have been an alternative for the NewNode demerits but its usage has been out ruled due to the fact that it makes the location public and poses a threat to the security of an individual. However, the Radio Liberty app is using a combination of NewNode and PsyPhon as a resort for the post-election internet censorship.
What are your views on this? Do you think NewNode could be improvised further? Do you think it’ll prove as a boon in days of Internet breakout?
Let me know your views in the comments!
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