Access to all foreign websites banned in Belarus

[mursaat]

I can't edit the title so I'll at least edit the first post. Seems like neowin got the news wrong about the new law in Belarus (or at least its direction). They are making all business that want to be accessible from the country to have local hosting. So it's not the belarusians not being able to access outside sites, but outside business having to host all their sites in belarusian hostings:

Google Translate offers quite a clear translation of the new law (original in Russian), which has two main parts. The first concerns businesses:
Business entities engaged in activities on the sale of goods, works and services in the Republic of Belarus with the use of information networks, systems and resources with an Internet connection, you should pay attention: if these networks, systems or resources are not available on the territory of Belarus and (or) not registered in the prescribed manner to the subjects can be applied to an administrative penalty of a fine from 10 to 30 base units.
That seems to say that all online businesses must be either located in Belarus, or registered there, which might be a problem for Amazon, say. Presumably the company could get around this if it set up a subsidiary in Belarus, and then sold goods from the site amazon.by – except for the slight problem that this domain has already been taken by a water company. However, Amazon might well decide that it is not worth the effort, and simply block all connections from Belarus.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...etty-bad.shtml

Which is not exactly what neowin said but still very bad. How many companies will take the easy way and ban access from Belarus? Do you imagine EVERY company in the internet having to rent hosting there? Still pretty moronic...


I leave the OLD FIRST POST for consistency shake, in red:

If you thought that America’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was a backward, draconian step for free speech and the development of global digital economies, the Republic of Belarus intends to go one better.

From 6 January 2012, a law will come into effect making it illegal for citizens of Belarus to visit or use foreign websites; anyone breaking the law will be found to have committed a misdemeanour, and fined up to $125 USD (to put this into perspective, the average monthly wage in Belarus is approximately $208, as of December 2011). Companies and individuals will be forbidden from accessing websites, using email or webmail services, payment and transaction services, and other online activities, unless they are provided through domestic domains on homeland servers.

http://www.neowin.net/news/access-to...ned-in-belarus

I happen to have very dear friends in that country, and this is abysmal. I don't really think this measure will last, only for the lack of understanding of all the implications it has. At least I hope so. My usual way to contact them is Gmail, Facebook and Skype. And that's me, think about the people of Belarus, without any outside news, social networks, etc.

Outragerous is small compared to this, I really really hope the international community make something to that fn Lukashenko, and soon.

[TurboDiv]

Sucks but there are Virtual Private Network service providers. VPN...

[Alex-Ro]

Wow,belarus is still a comunist country?

[Vardant]

Sucks but there are Virtual Private Network service providers. VPN...

You still have to connect to the VPN...

[mursaat]

Wow,belarus is still a comunist country?

Somehow yes, it's not like the old URSS, but the President (Alexander Lukashenko) is the only one allowed to make laws (and followed leader by many), you can't buy the house you want (the government assigns you one depending on marriage, number of children or ascendents at your charge), biggest industries are governmental, etc..

You could say it is (or WAS) between China and Russia today. With this I'd place them just south (pun intended) of North Korea.

You still have to connect to the VPN...

This. You could use proxies, Tor, VPN, etc, but if they want (or know how) they can find out you still are getting out somewere...

[MAS]

Belarus president with his young son Kolya are ready to leave the country


Signature at the pic: Let all the evil leave us in new year

[zalbard]

Please don't spread misinformation.
The situation is a bit different.
Read here.

That seems to say that all online businesses must be either located in Belarus, or registered there, which might be a problem for Amazon, say. Presumably the company could get around this if it set up a subsidiary in Belarus, and then sold goods from the site amazon.by – except for the slight problem that this domain has already been taken by a water company. However, Amazon might well decide that it is not worth the effort, and simply block all connections from Belarus.

One issue is what exactly "services" includes in the above section. If, as some have suggested, this means companies offering email, it might stop people using Gmail, unless Google also sets up an arm in the country – wisely, Google has already registered its domain in Belarus, google.by. Clearly, much depends on how the law is interpreted (and IANAL).

But yeah, terrible either way.

[mursaat]

Please don't spread misinformation.
The situation is a bit different.
Read here.

But yeah, terrible either way.

I hope you're right. I read about that in your link yesterday (first day at work so I don't really know the date of the news). Today I open neowin and read that. I thought it was a step further for the Belarus government. It seems as a (total) misread of the news from Andy Weir @neowin.

My bad too for trustin them. I'm not sure I can edit the thread title. Will try right away.

//EDIT: Exactly, can't edit title, I totally revamped the first post.

[mursaat]

Belarus president with his young son Kolya are ready to leave the country


Signature at the pic: Let all the evil leave us in new year

It was gross to see Kolya watching all the corpses in the subway attacks last year... what kind of father takes his little son to a bomb attack site?

[Cooper]

Why is this in news section ?

[mursaat]

You mean the picture or the whole thread?

If it's the picture, it was a bit OT but still on discussion if you ask me when pointing how bad is Belarus president. If it's the thread, well the last 12 months have been all about people trying to regain its liberties with all the peaceful revolutions, Wikileaks, Anonymous/Lulzsec, and talk about the injustices that still happen everywhere.

[Cooper]

We have 2 billion people with no access to clean water on this planet and you worried about this ?
Besides such news does not belong in this section. We have Wamps for that. But I don;t see this thread staying for long anyway.

[mursaat]

I fail to see your point here Cooper. I don't see you ranting about 2 billion people without clean water in the i7/Radeon/GTX threads, and those aren't even about human rights. The reason it's here is because it's about technology rights. And it's not the first to appear (SOPA and Sinde also were extensely discussed).

Anyway, totally OK for me, I don't want a discussion about a discussion

[Particle]

I don't understand why technology related news wouldn't belong here. This thread is on topic for this section. It's likely to spawn heated debates and attract trolls, but that's a different matter entirely. Be accurate.

---

A VPN or proxy wouldn't really help here, folks. The problem isn't a matter of getting around a national web censor like we typically talk about. Of course you can do that. This case is a bit special where the problem is that accessing a foreign service of any kind is a crime. All the country would have to do is make their ISPs monitor for packets addressed to IP blocks outside of the ones they want you to go to and either block them or report you. It wouldn't be hard for a country that small to enforce. They wouldn't really have to know what was in the packet, just that the packet had existed and that it came from you.

I'd think your only choice just about would be satellite Internet service provided you figured out a way to pay for it without getting in trouble.

[zir_blazer]

Wow,belarus is still a comunist country?

I have a serious distaste for these sort of totally uninformed comments that instantly associate communism with a lack of freedom of speech or individual rights. Might I remind you where capitalism is attemping to go in behalf of money, corporate interests and "terrorism", or you missed SOPA and the last two wars that USA declared for a single guy manhunt?

[Kurz]

I have a serious distaste for these sort of totally uninformed comments that instantly associate communism with a lack of freedom of speech or individual rights. Might I remind you where capitalism is attemping to go in behalf of money, corporate interests and "terrorism", or you missed SOPA and the last two wars that USA declared for a single guy manhunt?

Communism requires complete control by a central authority to work. So there is a Lack of Freedom of Speech and Individual Rights.

[Evantaur]

i wish people would stop making stupid laws like this

[zir_blazer]

Communism requires complete control by a central authority to work. So there is a Lack of Freedom of Speech and Individual Rights.

And that is where capitalism is heading. You should get that there is something wrong when in a system that is based on the individual right of "innocent until proved guilty", you can actually get fined and warantless wiretapped without even going though a trial for very stupid minor offenses (You can get fined more for unproven piracy that by physically going to shop, break a window, and steal a hard copy? Does it even makes sense?) to keep corporations feed with income that they wouldn't otherwise had at the cost of normal people wallets that can't defend themselves without spending tons of lawyers.
Thinking about it, you aren't that far from a latinamerican dictatorship. Too bad that you preferred to go to Afghanistan and Irak to dispose of dictators and didn't come here 30 years ago to bring us freedom. Oh wait, I forget that dictatorships like that of Pinochet in Chile were supported by the CIA...

[Kurz]

And that is where capitalism is heading. You should get that there is something wrong when in a system that is based on the individual right of "innocent until proved guilty", you can actually get fined and warantless wiretapped without even going though a trial for very stupid minor offenses (You can get fined more for unproven piracy that by physically going to shop, break a window, and steal a hard copy? Does it even makes sense?) to keep corporations feed with income that they wouldn't otherwise had at the cost of normal people wallets that can't defend themselves without spending tons of lawyers.
Thinking about it, you aren't that far from a latinamerican dictatorship. Too bad that you preferred to go to Afghanistan and Irak to dispose of dictators and didn't come here 30 years ago to bring us freedom. Oh wait, I forget that dictatorships like that of Pinochet in Chile were supported by the CIA...

Don't get me wrong I am fully against our current Government.
Its a government based on Force instead of voluntary assoication. Take Social Security and Medicare taxes forced onto you at birth.
Income taxes forced onto you for just earning your income (Sales tax is much fairer), Taxes on Property (In certain states)! Dont pay it government owns your property. The list goes on and on on laws that diminish our freedoms and makes us a poorer nation. Dont get me started on us meddling in the affairs of other countries.

Though I would say we are probably still better than most countries around the world.

[Cuthalu]

Communism requires complete economical control by a central authority to work. So there is a Lack of Economic Freedom.

Fixed. Please make a clear distinction whether you're speaking about Communism in general or certain implementation of it - like dictatorship-based system in USSR.

[Manabu]

This don't seems like an evil law by evil legislators, but more like a moronic law by legislators who don't understand the internet...

[gallag]

I could be wrong here, but is this not a case of " if you want to trade in our country you have to put somthing back in" i dont think they are saying you cant read xs any more just that large corps like amazone etc will have to pay a bit to get a bit. that does not bother me, who wants one or two massive companys runing the world? The only reason "free" countrys are not doing this is because the keaders live quite comfortably from the handouts from big buisness.

[Kurz]

Fixed. Please make a clear distinction whether you're speaking about Communism in general or certain implementation of it - like dictatorship-based system in USSR.

I don't understand why there is a seperation of Personal freedom and Economic Freedom. They are Essentialy Freedom.

[Aberration]

Because Personal Freedom exists until someone takes it away. Economic Freedom can not exist until you produce it. They are and will always be separable.

[Kurz]

Because Personal Freedom exists until someone takes it away. Economic Freedom can not exist until you produce it. They are and will always be separable.

Economic Freedom is essentially the ability to do whatever you want with your Property. Be it Money, Land, Ideas, etc...
How can you consider yourself Free if you don't own anything you produce or worked for?