<s>
The	O
splinternet	B-Application
(	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
cyber-balkanization	B-Application
or	O
internet	B-Application
balkanization	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
characterization	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
as	O
splintering	O
and	O
dividing	O
due	O
to	O
various	O
factors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
technology	O
,	O
commerce	O
,	O
politics	O
,	O
nationalism	O
,	O
religion	O
,	O
and	O
divergent	O
national	O
interests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Chinese	O
government	O
erected	O
the	O
"	O
Great	B-Application
Firewall	I-Application
"	O
for	O
political	O
reasons	O
,	O
and	O
Russia	O
,	O
has	O
enacted	O
the	O
Sovereign	O
Internet	O
Law	O
that	O
allows	O
it	O
to	O
partition	O
itself	O
from	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
while	O
other	O
nations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	B-Application
US	I-Application
and	O
Australia	O
,	O
discussed	O
plans	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
similar	O
firewall	O
to	O
block	O
child	O
pornography	O
or	O
weapon-making	O
instructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
no	O
longer	O
require	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
to	O
access	O
the	O
Web	O
,	O
as	O
new	O
hardware	O
tools	O
often	O
come	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
"	O
unique	O
set	O
of	O
standards	O
"	O
for	O
displaying	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Journalist	O
and	O
author	O
Doc	O
Searls	O
uses	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
splinternet	B-Application
"	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
"	O
growing	O
distance	O
between	O
the	O
ideals	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
the	O
realities	O
of	O
dysfunctional	O
nationalisms	O
...	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
various	O
,	O
and	O
sometimes	O
incompatible	O
standards	O
which	O
often	O
make	O
it	O
hard	O
for	O
search	O
engines	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
works	O
because	O
the	O
Web	O
is	O
standardized	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Writer	O
Derek	O
Thomson	O
explains	O
that	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
Splinternet	B-Application
age	O
,	O
ads	O
are	O
more	O
tightly	O
controlled	O
by	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
My	O
old	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
defaulted	O
to	O
Bing	O
search	O
because	O
(	O
network	O
operator	O
)	O
Verizon	B-Application
has	O
a	O
deal	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
my	O
new	O
phone	O
that	O
runs	O
Google	B-Application
Android	I-Application
software	O
serves	O
Google	B-Application
ads	O
under	O
apps	O
for	O
programs	O
like	O
Pandora	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
walls	O
going	O
up	O
just	O
as	O
the	O
walls	O
to	O
mobile	O
Internet	O
access	O
are	O
falling	O
down	O
"	O
.Forrester	O
Research	O
vice	O
president	O
and	O
author	O
Josh	O
Bernoff	O
also	O
writes	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
unified	O
Web	O
is	O
turning	O
into	O
a	O
Splinternet	B-Application
"	O
,	O
as	O
users	O
of	O
new	O
devices	O
risk	O
leaving	O
one	O
Internet	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
uses	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
splinternet	B-Application
"	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
"	O
a	O
web	O
in	O
which	O
content	O
on	O
devices	O
other	O
than	O
PCs	O
,	O
or	O
hidden	O
behind	O
passwords	O
,	O
makes	O
it	O
harder	O
for	O
site	O
developers	O
and	O
marketers	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
unified	O
experience	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
points	O
out	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
that	O
web	O
pages	O
"	O
do	O
n't	O
look	O
the	O
same	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
size	O
and	O
do	O
n't	O
work	O
the	O
same	O
since	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
does	O
n't	O
support	O
Flash	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
adds	O
that	O
now	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
explosion	O
of	O
other	O
phone	O
platforms	O
like	O
Google	B-Application
Android	I-Application
,	O
"	O
we	O
'll	O
have	O
yet	O
another	O
incompatible	O
set	O
of	O
devices	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
both	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
are	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
platforms	O
,	O
and	O
both	O
offer	O
WebKit-based	O
browsers	B-Application
as	O
standard	O
,	O
as	O
does	O
handset	O
manufacturer	O
Nokia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
more	O
attempts	O
to	O
keep	O
foreign	O
nationals	O
off	O
certain	O
Web	O
properties	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
digital	O
content	O
available	O
to	O
U.K.	O
citizens	O
via	O
the	O
BBC	O
's	O
iPlayer	B-Application
is	O
"	O
increasingly	O
unavailable	O
to	O
Germans	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
many	O
governments	O
are	O
actively	O
blocking	O
Internet	O
access	O
to	O
its	O
own	O
nationals	O
,	O
creating	O
more	O
of	O
what	O
Morozov	O
calls	O
a	O
"	O
Splinternet	B-Application
"	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Organizations	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
were	O
created	O
because	O
they	O
recognized	O
that	O
"	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
and	O
surveillance	O
are	O
growing	O
global	O
phenomena.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
book	O
on	O
the	O
subject	O
was	O
reportedly	O
"	O
censored	O
by	O
the	O
U.N.	O
"	O
with	O
a	O
poster	O
removed	O
by	O
U.N.	O
security	O
officials	O
because	O
it	O
mentioned	O
China	O
's	O
"	O
Great	B-Application
Firewall	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2010	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
chose	O
to	O
pull	O
its	O
search	O
engines	O
and	O
other	O
services	O
out	O
of	O
China	O
in	O
protest	O
of	O
their	O
censorship	O
and	O
the	O
hacking	O
of	O
Gmail	O
accounts	O
belonging	O
to	O
Chinese	O
activists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Iran	O
's	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
policy	O
is	O
labeled	O
"	O
Pervasive	O
"	O
by	O
the	O
OpenNet	B-Application
Initiative	I-Application
's	O
global	O
Internet	O
filtering	O
map	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
worst	O
in	O
the	O
ranking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2010	O
,	O
they	O
added	O
Turkey	O
and	O
Russia	O
to	O
their	O
'	O
under	O
surveillance	O
 '	O
list	O
regarding	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
,	O
and	O
warned	O
other	O
countries	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
United	O
Arab	O
Emirates	O
,	O
Belarus	O
and	O
Thailand	O
,	O
also	O
"	O
under	O
surveillance	O
"	O
status	O
,	O
to	O
avoid	O
getting	O
transferred	O
into	O
the	O
next	O
"	O
Enemies	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
"	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Called	O
Cyberbalkanization	B-Application
(	O
or	O
sometimes	O
cyber-balkanization	B-Application
)	O
,	O
it	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
division	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
or	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
into	O
sub-groups	O
with	O
specific	O
interests	O
(	O
digital	O
tribes	O
)	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
sub-group	O
'	O
s	O
members	O
almost	O
always	O
use	O
the	O
Internet	O
or	O
the	O
web	O
to	O
communicate	O
or	O
read	O
material	O
that	O
is	O
only	O
of	O
interest	O
to	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
sub-group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
2001	O
book	O
Republic.com,	O
Cass	O
Sunstein	O
argued	O
that	O
cyberbalkanization	B-Application
could	O
damage	O
democracy	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
allows	O
different	O
groups	O
to	O
avoid	O
exposure	O
to	O
one	O
another	O
as	O
they	O
gather	O
in	O
increasingly	O
segregated	O
communities	O
,	O
making	O
recognition	O
of	O
other	O
points	O
of	O
view	O
or	O
common	O
ground	O
decreasingly	O
likely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
concerns	O
of	O
cyberbalkanization	B-Application
,	O
there	O
is	O
mixed	O
evidence	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
actually	O
growing	O
.	O
</s>
