Internet censorship is no longer limited to authoritarian regimes. Over 70 countries actively censor the internet, affecting more than 4 billion people. China blocks Google, Facebook, and thousands of news sites behind the Great Firewall. Russia has blocked independent media and social platforms since the Ukraine invasion. Iran throttles and blocks during every protest movement. Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Belarus, Thailand, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and dozens of other countries impose varying degrees of internet censorship.
Traditional web hosting is inherently vulnerable to censorship. Your website has an IP address that can be blacklisted, a domain name that can be seized or blocked at the DNS level, and a hosting provider that can be pressured by governments to remove content. Even hosting in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction does not prevent foreign governments from blocking access to your site within their borders.
The trend is accelerating. More countries are developing DPI capabilities, building national firewalls, and passing laws that require content removal. The clearnet is becoming increasingly fragmented into national internets where governments decide what their citizens can access. This fragmentation demands a new approach to publishing - one that is architecturally resistant to censorship rather than merely legally protected.