Belarus Bans Browsing of All Foreign Websites
Belarus Bans Browsing of All Foreign Websites
As citizens of the United States worry over the implications of the pending SOPA legislation, a small land-locked country on the fringes of Europe is showing how bad things can really get. Labeled by the United States as an “outpost of tyranny”, Belarus is certainly living up to its reputation. This Friday, browsing foreign websites will become an offense punishable by fines, with service providers taking responsibility for the actions of their users.
While there are many reasons why people oppose the implementation of SOPA, a common thread is that any level of censorship will simply encourage yet more. The fear is that an inch will become a mile, and before long the Internet will be a place of restrictions where innovation is stifled.
Those pointing to China as an example of how bad things can get should now focus a little closer to the west, on the outskirts of Europe to be precise.
From January 6th, Belarus, which became independent in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, will begin severely restricting what its citizens can do on the Internet. New legislation requires that anyone doing business in the country may only utilize fully local Internet domains when carrying out their activities online...
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http://torrentfreak.com/belarus-bans-browsing-of-all-foreign-websites-120103/
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