This list of Internet censorship and surveillance in Asia provides information on the types and levels of Internet censorship and surveillance that is occurring in countries in Asia.

Detailed country by country information on Internet censorship and surveillance is provided in the Freedom on the Net reports from Freedom House, by the OpenNet Initiative, by Reporters Without Borders, and in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices from the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. The ratings produced by several of these organizations are summarized below as well as in the Censorship by country article.

Classifications

The level of Internet censorship and surveillance in a country is classified in one of the four categories: pervasive, substantial, selective, and little or no censorship or surveillance. The classifications are based on the classifications and ratings from the Freedom on the Net reports by Freedom House supplemented with information from the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), Reporters Without Borders (RWB), and the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Pervasive censorship or surveillance: A country is classified as engaged in pervasive censorship or surveillance when it often censors political, social, and other content, is engaged in mass surveillance of the Internet, and retaliates against citizens who circumvent censorship or surveillance with imprisonment or other sanctions. A country is included in the "pervasive" category when it: is rated as "not free" with a total score of 71 to 100 in the Freedom on the Net (FOTN) report from Freedom House, is rated "not free" in FOTN or is not rated in FOTN and is included on the "Internet enemies" list from Reporters Without Borders, or when the OpenNet Initiative categorizes the level of Internet filtering as pervasive in any of the four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) for which they test.

Substantial censorship or surveillance: Countries included in this classification are engaged in substantial Internet censorship and surveillance. This includes countries where a number of categories are subject to a medium level of filtering or many categories are subject to a low level of filtering. A country is included in the "substantial" category when it: is not included in the "pervasive" category, and is rated as "not free" in the Freedom on the Net (FOTN) report from Freedom House, or is rated "partly free" or is not rated in FOTN, and is included on the "Internet enemies" list from Reporters Without Borders,List of the 13 Internet enemies Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 11 July 2006. or when the OpenNet Initiative categorizes the level of Internet filtering as pervasive or substantial in any of the four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) for which they test.

Selective censorship or surveillance: Countries included in this classification were found to practice selective Internet censorship and surveillance. This includes countries where a small number of specific sites are blocked or censorship targets a small number of categories or issues. A country is included in the "selective" category when it: is not included in the "pervasive" or "substantial" categories, and is rated as "partly free" in the Freedom on the Net (FOTN) report from Freedom House, or is included on the "Internet enemies" list from Reporters Without Borders, or is not rated in FOTN and the OpenNet Initiative categorizes the level of Internet filtering as selective in any of the four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) for which they test.

Little or no censorship or surveillance: A country is included in the "little or no censorship or surveillance" category when it is not included in the "pervasive", "substantial" or "selective" categories.

This classification includes countries that are listed as "free" on the Freedom on the Net list from Freedom House, are not listed as "Enemies of the Internet" by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), and for which no evidence of Internet filtering was found by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) in any of the four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) for which they test. Other controls such as voluntary filtering, self-censorship, and other types of public or private action to limit child pornography, hate speech, defamation, or theft of intellectual property often exist. The various nation sections, below, include ratings by ONI, RWB, etc.

Pervasive censorship or surveillance

Bahrain

Rated "not free" by Freedom House in Freedom on the Net in 2011 (score 62), 2012 (score 71), 2013 (score 72), 2014 (score 74), 2015 (score 72), 2016 (score 71), 2017 (score 72), and 2018 (score 71)."Bahrain" , Freedom on the Net 2011, Freedom House, 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2015."Bahrain" , Freedom on the Net 2012, Freedom House, 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015."Bahrain" , Freedom on the Net 2013, Freedom House, 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2015. Listed as pervasive in the political and social areas, as substantial in Internet tools, and as selective in conflict/security by ONI in August 2009."ONI Country Profiles", Research section at the OpenNet Initiative web site, a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa Listed as an Enemy of the Internet by RWB in 2012.Internet Enemies , Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012 Listed as a State Enemy of the Internet by RWB in 2013 for involvement in active, intrusive surveillance of news providers, resulting in grave violations of freedom of information and human rights.The Enemies of the Internet Special Edition : Surveillance , Reporters Without Borders, 12 March 2013

Bahrain enforces an effective news blackout using an array of repressive measures, including keeping the international media away, harassing human rights activists, arresting bloggers and other online activists (one of whom died in detention), prosecuting free speech activists, and disrupting communications, especially during major demonstrations.

On 5 January 2009 the Ministry of Culture and Information issued an order (Resolution No 1 of 2009)Resolution No 1 of 2009, Ministry of Culture and Information, published in Official Gazette, Issue No.2877, dated 8 January 2009 pursuant to the Telecommunications Law and Press and Publications Law of Bahrain that regulates the blocking and unblocking of websites. This resolution requires all ISPs – among other things – to procure and install a website blocking software solution chosen by the Ministry. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority ("TRA") assisted the Ministry of Culture and Information in the execution of the said Resolution by coordinating the procurement of the unified website blocking software solution. This software solution is operated solely by the Ministry of Information and Culture and neither the TRA nor ISPs have any control over sites that are blocked or unblocked.

China

Rated "not free" in Freedom on the Net by Freedom House in 2009 (score 79), 2011 (score 83), 2012 (score 85), 2013 (score 86), 2014 (score 87), 2015 (score 88), 2016 (score 88), 2017 (score 87), and 2018 (score 88)."China" , Freedom on the Net 2009, Freedom House, 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2015."China" , Freedom on the Net 2011, Freedom House, 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2015."China" , Freedom on the Net 2012, Freedom House, 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2015."China" , Freedom on the Net 2013, Freedom House, 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2015. Listed as pervasive in the political and conflict/security areas and as substantial in social and Internet tools by ONI in June 2009 and August 2012. Listed as an Enemy of the Internet by RWB since 2008. Listed as a State Enemy of the Internet by RWB in 2013 for involvement in active, intrusive surveillance of news providers, resulting in grave violations of freedom of information and human rights.

Internet censorship in China is among the most stringent in the world. The government blocks Web sites that discuss Tibetan independence and the Dalai Lama, Taiwan independence, police brutality, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, freedom of speech, pornography, some international news sources and propaganda outlets (such as the VOA), certain occult movements (such as Falun Gong), and many blogging websites. At the end of 2007 51 cyber dissidents were reportedly imprisoned in China for their online postings. According to Human Rights Watch, in China the government also continues to violate domestic and international legal guarantees of freedom of press and expression by restricting bloggers, journalists, and an estimated more than 500 million Internet users. The government requires Internet search firms and state media to censor issues deemed officially "sensitive", and blocks access to foreign websites. However, the rise of Chinese online social networks such as Qzone, Tencent Music, Tencent Video, WeChat and in particularly Sina's Weibo, which has 200 million users—has created a new platform for citizens to express opinions and to challenge official limitations on freedom of speech despite intense scrutiny by China's censors.

Iran

Rated "not free" in the Freedom on the Net report from Freedom House in 2009 (76 score), 2011 (89 score), 2012 (90 score), 2013 (91 score), 2014 (89 score), 2015 (87 score), 2016 (score 87), 2017 (score 85), and 2018 (score 85). Listed as pervasive in the political, social, and Internet tools areas and as substantial in conflict/security by ONI in June 2009. Listed as an Enemy of the Internet by RWB in 2011. Listed as a State Enemy of the Internet by RWB in 2013 for involvement in active, intrusive surveillance of news providers, resulting in grave violations of freedom of information and human rights.

The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to expand and consolidate its technical filtering system, which is among the most extensive in the world. A centralized system for Internet filtering has been implemented that augments the filtering conducted at the Internet service provider (ISP) level."ONI Country Profile: Iran", OpenNet Initiative, 16 June 2009 Filtering targets content critical of the government, religion, pornographic websites, political blogs, and human's rights websites, weblogs, and online magazines. Bloggers in Iran have been imprisoned for their Internet activities. The Iranian government temporarily blocked access, between 12 May 2006 and January 2009, to video-upload sites such as YouTube.com. Flickr, which was blocked for almost the same amount of time was opened in February 2009. But after 2009 election protests YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and many more websites were blocked indefinitely."Cracking Down on Digital Communication and Political Organizing in Iran", Rebekah Heacock, OpenNet Initiative, 15 June 2009

Kuwait

Listed as pervasive in the social and Internet tools areas and as selective in political and conflict/security by ONI in June 2009.

The primary target of Internet filtering is pornography and, to a lesser extent, gay and lesbian content.ONI Country Profile: Kuwait", OpenNet Initiative, 6 August 2009 The Kuwait Ministry of Communication regulates ISPs, making them block pornographic, anti-religion, anti-tradition, and anti-security websites."Kuwait: State of the media", Menassat Both private ISPs and the government take actions to filter the Internet."Middle East and North Africa: Kuwait", Media Sustainability Index, 2006"Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait – 2007", Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 11 March 2008