HTTP Code Error 451 Will Identify Web Censorship

The internet might be pretty much available in every country worldwide, but how the internet is governed and presided over varies from legal jurisdiction to legal jurisdiction.

Differences in legal and government systems can often lead to websites being blocked or censored for various reasons, and the cause isn’t always clear.

The World Web Foundation’s annual report claimed that censorship of online content rose by 6% in 2014 alone.

So is the website you were looking for just down, or has it been blocked?

Well, a new internet error code, going by the name and number of 451,  has been created that aims to solve the mystery and lack of transparency associated with blocked and censored content.

At present, when an error 404 or 403 error appears on an internet browser, it normally means your web browser couldn’t find the page you were looking for. The new 451 error code is designed to inform users when that web content has been blocked.

Why 451?

The error 451 protocol, is actually a nod to Ray Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451.

It is hoped that error code 451 will universally adopted by web-developers so that users will know when they can’t access websites or content because it has been blocked, either for legal reasons, or by a country’s government.

The original proposal was put forward by Tim Bray back in 2012, and error code 451 has now been approved for further examination by The Internet Engineering Steering Group, (IESG) which will allow web-developers to develop code 452 for the internet at large immediately.

While some technical ‘processes’ need to be addressed, code 451 should start popping up on screens around the world quite quickly when access to content is blocked.

The message that will accompany the 451 error code will read as follows:

This status code indicates that the server is denying access to the resource as a consequence of a legal demand.

The server in question might not be an origin server. This type of legal demand typically most directly affects the operations of ISPs and search engines.

Yay for the internet and freedom

I’m afraid not. You won’t be seeing 451 codes popping up in in countries that already censor the internet.  Error code 451 is voluntary, and “those countries are not overly keen on letting their citizens know just how much information they are hiding from them.”

Still, it is another move in the right direction.

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