Anti-censorship groups are using a large and growing constellation of computer servers, known as proxies, to develop new ways of evading censors.

Anonymouse.org, one of the most prominent proxies to emerge in the last few years, was created by Alexander Pircher, a German college student, in 1997. Users simply type a web address into a box on the Anonymouse home page and click a button. Then, the Anonymouse server (rather than the user's own computer) posts the page.

While those of us not living under a particularly repressive regime might not need this sort of service, computer users in China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and other states where all information is screened by the government seem to value it. In the case of Anonymouse, more than 3 million individuals use the site daily, Pircher claims.

As futurist and author Stewart Brand famously noted, “Information wants to be free.” Marketers would do well to appreciate that phrase when it comes to managing their messages. Consumers have more control than ever over the information they receive. Whether you’re a government or company, being able to maintain your credibility and integrity will depend in large part on whether you can craft a message that can get through the ultimate censor: the individual.