If you go to this website:
It may or may not load for you, depending on your state/province/internet service provider. I tried six different locations today: library, apartment, coffee shop, university campus, etc. and it was banned in 5 out of the 6. It worked on my private wifi but not on any public wifi. I expect private access will be illegal soon.
For context for my economist readers, AutoAdmit is like Econjobrumors (EJMR) but for lawyers. It is an anonymous message board for lawyers.
This follows reports over the past 1-2 days from several American users who claim that it's banned by a major US server and in Canada. I have confirmed with several American friends that it is banned for them, but it successfully works if they use a non-American proxy. I am told that the ban is “not that hard to work around”… but that’s not the point. I shouldn’t have to use TOR like I am some sort of criminal to access message boards.
Update: I have heard from an unverified source that “apparently various isp's (at least spectrum, which is fairly large in the US) are blocking it at the DNS level, which is the same treatment piratebay, libgen, etc get. I’m not aware of any other examples which is what makes this kind of surprising. Wouldn’t be surprised if its part of a bigger political attack.”
I am told that there is still a chance this whole thing could turn out to be a technical glitch or firewall error, but it is increasingly looking like a ban by the powers that be. The site is currently banned in European airports and various European countries.
I am not even going to bother ranting about the injustices of muzzling free speech… it is a lost cause. Free speech is dead in Canada, and it is only going to get worse. This is just the start. There is an entire slate of aggressively anti-free speech and pro-censorship legislation currently in the pipeline, and I fully expect that Trudeau’s Liberal/NDP coalition will enthusiastically pass all of it within the next 0-2 years, thus consolidating power.
I am leaving Canada permanently. I was already set on this decision, and every day that passes I feel more confident I made the right decision. Canada’s future is increasingly authoritarian. I half-seriously expect that I will soon be labeled a terrorist for the milquetoast opinions expressed on this Substack.
Please sign up for free to my mailing list to support dissident media. Substack can’t be censored:
So you coming down to America? We could use you down here!
Not sure how the ban works. I can access the website and with my VPN service can access the website even if I set it to Toronto or Montreal.