The HTTP 451 Error Code For Censorship Is Now An Internet Standard: Motherboard

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Link: The HTTP 451 Error Code for Censorship Is Now an Internet Standard | Motherboard

 

The 451 HTTP status code is now official in the eyes of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the independent organization responsible for many of the internet’s operating standards. Now, when an internet user hits a web page that has been blocked for legal reasons (read: censorship), they may be presented with a 451 error instead of the more generic 403 “forbidden” error...

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IETF document...

 

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-httpbis-legally-restricted-status/?include_text=1

 

www.mnot.net/blog/2015/12/18/451

 

Why 451?

Today, the IESG approved publication of "An HTTP Status Code to Report Legal Obstacles". It'll be an RFC after some work by the RFC Editor and a few more process bits, but effectively you can start using it now.

 

Tim Bray brought this draft to the HTTP Working Group some time ago, because he (and many others) thought it was important to highlight online censorship; the 403 status code says "Forbidden", but it doesn't say "I can't show you that for legal reasons." Hence, 451 (which is also a great tip of the hat to Ray Bradbury).

 

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In some jurisdictions, I suspect that censorious governments will disallow the use of 451, to hide what they're doing. We can't stop that (of course), but if your government does that, it sends a strong message to you as a citizen about what their intent is. That's worth knowing about, I think.