DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems

Aguerre, Carolina - Breventano, Camila - Buriani, Rodrigo - Delgado, Brittany - Elgart, Sabrina - Estrada, Miguel Ignacio - Martínez Cagnazzo, Carlos - Raimondo, Luca - Robotti, Franco

Editor(es): Schwartz-Henderson, Laura

Resumen:

This report documents DNS practices across six countries in Latin America: Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Researchers tested 4,635 websites using local and VPN-based measurements as well as conducted desk research and expert interviews, as part of a hands-on collaborative teaching and research project on internet censorship. The study found that there are no significant differences in how the DNS is technically blocked in repressive and democratic contexts and that the scale of blocking in these countries varies dramatically. In democracies with transparent legal processes such as Argentina and Uruguay, gambling sites and other copyright issues dominate the blocking instances, and this technical practice matches the publication of the legal orders for commercial enforcement. In authoritarian countries, this research showed far smaller amounts of DNS blocking, while the qualitative evidence reveals extensive political censorship and the cultivation of cultures of self-censorship and self-regulation of speech. Additionally, this research finds that commercial VPNs are effective in bypassing a large majority (86-97%) of these blocks. While testing DNS blocking remains a relevant approach to study Internet censorship practices, to comprehensively analyze internet censorship in a country or region, there is a need to integrate other complementary technical and non-technical methodologies.

Detalles Bibliográficos
2026
Open Technology Fund
Internet
Censorship
Access to information
Freedom of expression
Latin America
Democracy
Political systems
Internet
Censura
Acceso a la información
Libertad de expresión
América Latina
Democracia
Sistemas políticos
Universidad Católica del Uruguay
LIBERI
https://hdl.handle.net/10895/7555
Acceso abierto
Licencia Creative Commons Atribución – No Comercial – Sin Derivadas (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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author Aguerre, Carolina
author2 Breventano, Camila
Buriani, Rodrigo
Delgado, Brittany
Elgart, Sabrina
Estrada, Miguel Ignacio
Martínez Cagnazzo, Carlos
Raimondo, Luca
Robotti, Franco
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author_facet Aguerre, Carolina
Breventano, Camila
Buriani, Rodrigo
Delgado, Brittany
Elgart, Sabrina
Estrada, Miguel Ignacio
Martínez Cagnazzo, Carlos
Raimondo, Luca
Robotti, Franco
author_role author
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dc.creator.editor.none.fl_str_mv Schwartz-Henderson, Laura
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Aguerre, Carolina
Breventano, Camila
Buriani, Rodrigo
Delgado, Brittany
Elgart, Sabrina
Estrada, Miguel Ignacio
Martínez Cagnazzo, Carlos
Raimondo, Luca
Robotti, Franco
dc.date.accessioned.none.fl_str_mv 2026-04-29T16:00:44Z
dc.date.available.none.fl_str_mv 2026-04-29T16:00:44Z
dc.date.issued.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.description.abstract.none.fl_txt_mv This report documents DNS practices across six countries in Latin America: Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Researchers tested 4,635 websites using local and VPN-based measurements as well as conducted desk research and expert interviews, as part of a hands-on collaborative teaching and research project on internet censorship. The study found that there are no significant differences in how the DNS is technically blocked in repressive and democratic contexts and that the scale of blocking in these countries varies dramatically. In democracies with transparent legal processes such as Argentina and Uruguay, gambling sites and other copyright issues dominate the blocking instances, and this technical practice matches the publication of the legal orders for commercial enforcement. In authoritarian countries, this research showed far smaller amounts of DNS blocking, while the qualitative evidence reveals extensive political censorship and the cultivation of cultures of self-censorship and self-regulation of speech. Additionally, this research finds that commercial VPNs are effective in bypassing a large majority (86-97%) of these blocks. While testing DNS blocking remains a relevant approach to study Internet censorship practices, to comprehensively analyze internet censorship in a country or region, there is a need to integrate other complementary technical and non-technical methodologies.
dc.description.sponsorship.none.fl_txt_mv Open Technology Fund
dc.format.extent.es.fl_str_mv 24 p.
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10895/7555
dc.language.iso.none.fl_str_mv en_US
dc.publisher.country.none.fl_str_mv UY
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Universidad Católica del Uruguay

dc.rights.license.none.fl_str_mv Licencia Creative Commons Atribución – No Comercial – Sin Derivadas (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.uri.none.fl_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:LIBERI
instname:Universidad Católica del Uruguay
instacron:Universidad Católica del Uruguay
dc.subject.en.fl_str_mv Internet
Censorship
Access to information
Freedom of expression
Latin America
Democracy
Political systems
dc.subject.es.fl_str_mv Internet
Censura
Acceso a la información
Libertad de expresión
América Latina
Democracia
Sistemas políticos
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/report
dc.type.version.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
description This report documents DNS practices across six countries in Latin America: Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Researchers tested 4,635 websites using local and VPN-based measurements as well as conducted desk research and expert interviews, as part of a hands-on collaborative teaching and research project on internet censorship. The study found that there are no significant differences in how the DNS is technically blocked in repressive and democratic contexts and that the scale of blocking in these countries varies dramatically. In democracies with transparent legal processes such as Argentina and Uruguay, gambling sites and other copyright issues dominate the blocking instances, and this technical practice matches the publication of the legal orders for commercial enforcement. In authoritarian countries, this research showed far smaller amounts of DNS blocking, while the qualitative evidence reveals extensive political censorship and the cultivation of cultures of self-censorship and self-regulation of speech. Additionally, this research finds that commercial VPNs are effective in bypassing a large majority (86-97%) of these blocks. While testing DNS blocking remains a relevant approach to study Internet censorship practices, to comprehensively analyze internet censorship in a country or region, there is a need to integrate other complementary technical and non-technical methodologies.
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publishDate 2026
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Universidad Católica del Uruguay

reponame_str LIBERI
repository.mail.fl_str_mv franco.pertusso@ucu.edu.uy
repository.name.fl_str_mv LIBERI - Universidad Católica del Uruguay
repository_id_str 10342
rights_invalid_str_mv Licencia Creative Commons Atribución – No Comercial – Sin Derivadas (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
spelling Licencia Creative Commons Atribución – No Comercial – Sin Derivadas (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/2026-04-29T16:00:44Z2026-04-29T16:00:44Z2026https://hdl.handle.net/10895/7555This report documents DNS practices across six countries in Latin America: Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Researchers tested 4,635 websites using local and VPN-based measurements as well as conducted desk research and expert interviews, as part of a hands-on collaborative teaching and research project on internet censorship. The study found that there are no significant differences in how the DNS is technically blocked in repressive and democratic contexts and that the scale of blocking in these countries varies dramatically. In democracies with transparent legal processes such as Argentina and Uruguay, gambling sites and other copyright issues dominate the blocking instances, and this technical practice matches the publication of the legal orders for commercial enforcement. In authoritarian countries, this research showed far smaller amounts of DNS blocking, while the qualitative evidence reveals extensive political censorship and the cultivation of cultures of self-censorship and self-regulation of speech. Additionally, this research finds that commercial VPNs are effective in bypassing a large majority (86-97%) of these blocks. While testing DNS blocking remains a relevant approach to study Internet censorship practices, to comprehensively analyze internet censorship in a country or region, there is a need to integrate other complementary technical and non-technical methodologies.Open Technology Fundapplication/pdf24 p.en_USUniversidad Católica del UruguayUYInternetCensorshipAccess to informationFreedom of expressionLatin AmericaDemocracyPolitical systemsInternetCensuraAcceso a la informaciónLibertad de expresiónAmérica LatinaDemocraciaSistemas políticosDNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systemsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/reportinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionreponame:LIBERIinstname:Universidad Católica del Uruguayinstacron:Universidad Católica del UruguayAguerre, CarolinaBreventano, CamilaBuriani, RodrigoDelgado, BrittanyElgart, SabrinaEstrada, Miguel IgnacioMartínez Cagnazzo, CarlosRaimondo, LucaRobotti, FrancoSchwartz-Henderson, LauraORIGINALDNS Blocking in LAC Summary Report.pdfDNS Blocking in LAC Summary Report.pdfapplication/pdf783300https://liberi.ucu.edu.uy/bitstreams/7f00c97d-6110-4dd9-8b66-156fcb0682d1/download34197e18e8fce14ac28f954a8ceeaf67MD51trueAnonymousREADLICENSElicense.txtWritten by org.dspace.content.LicenseUtilstext/plain; charset=utf-81021https://liberi.ucu.edu.uy/bitstreams/115b0f9a-bcb8-4e8f-91c6-1210bf28ae68/download40f5922ee6c15fece1c80fd7406b5becMD52falseAnonymousREADTEXTDNS Blocking in LAC Summary Report.pdf.txtWritten by FormatFilter org.dspace.app.mediafilter.TikaTextExtractionFilter on 2026-04-30T06:00:25Z (GMT).Extracted texttext/plain63061https://liberi.ucu.edu.uy/bitstreams/2ef4edd1-cb9e-4754-8955-d7e4bc77c352/download61bfb0e5d44662bdbe7fdb9db48bf4daMD53falseAnonymousREADTHUMBNAILDNS Blocking in LAC Summary Report.pdf.jpgWritten by FormatFilter org.dspace.app.mediafilter.PDFBoxThumbnail on 2026-04-30T06:00:26Z (GMT).Generated Thumbnailimage/jpeg6408https://liberi.ucu.edu.uy/bitstreams/e22bac80-d1dc-4311-b67f-c4f87fd98b30/download2113821bec584fb3f766ae44695e0d37MD54falseAnonymousREAD10895/75552026-04-30 08:00:26.801https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessopen.accessoai:liberi.ucu.edu.uy:10895/7555https://liberi.ucu.edu.uyInstitucionalhttps://liberi.ucu.edu.uy/Universidadhttps://www.ucu.edu.uy/https://liberi.ucu.edu.uy/server/oaifranco.pertusso@ucu.edu.uyUruguayopendoar:103422026-04-30T06:00:26LIBERI - Universidad Católica del 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
spellingShingle DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
Aguerre, Carolina
Internet
Censorship
Access to information
Freedom of expression
Latin America
Democracy
Political systems
Internet
Censura
Acceso a la información
Libertad de expresión
América Latina
Democracia
Sistemas políticos
status_str publishedVersion
title DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
title_full DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
title_fullStr DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
title_full_unstemmed DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
title_short DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
title_sort DNS blocking in Latin America: a comparative study across political systems
topic Internet
Censorship
Access to information
Freedom of expression
Latin America
Democracy
Political systems
Internet
Censura
Acceso a la información
Libertad de expresión
América Latina
Democracia
Sistemas políticos
url https://hdl.handle.net/10895/7555