ECSA will attempt to pull together, aggregate, and visualize up-to-date intelligence about the state of the Internet across the world. It will show content filtering, blocking, or other disruptions to the Web, among other things. ECSA could prove to be a vital resource, particularly if it is opened up for free public use. By centralizing and mapping data about surveillance and censorship in near real time, it would help inform not only EU politicians but journalists, lawmakers, human rights activists, and citizens internationally. Andrea Glorioso, the European Commission officer responsible for ECSA, told me the aim was to make the platform “as open as possible, both for contributing and for accessing it.” However, he added, “choices might have to be made depending on the sensitivity of the information being handled.” A prototype for ECSA is tentatively planned to launch in 2013, and Glorioso is holding a workshop in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 23 to discuss its scope and objectives.

European Capability for Situation Awareness program to monitor Internet access around the world.

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