Belarus to restrict access to foreign websites?

Belarus has introduced a law imposing restrictions on the use of websites based outside the country, according to Global Legal Monitor, an online publication of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Under the new law, which comes into effect on 6 January, transactions from Belarus on the website of a foreign Internet company like Amazon would be illegal, and the company could may be sued for violating national law, according to Peter Roudik, author of the article.

The Eastern European republic, which was formerly a part of the Soviet Union, is listed under "countries under surveillance" for Internet censorship by press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders.

The new law, published on 21 December, requires all companies and individuals registered as entrepreneurs in Belarus to use only domestic Internet domains for providing online services, conducting sales, or exchanging e-mail messages, according to Global Legal Monitor.

The new law implements Decree 60 of the Belarus President in February 2010, referred to as "Improvements to the Usage of the National Segment of the Internet", which came into effect last July.

The decree requires Internet service providers to register with the government, provide technical details on the country’s online networks, systems and information resources, and also identify all the devices including computers and mobile phones used to connect to the Internet, according to Reporters Without Borders. Decree 60 also requires users going online in a cybercafé or using a shared connection, for example, in a condominium, to identify themselves, and a record of all online connections to be kept for one year, it said.

The government also set up a system for filtering and blocking websites considered dangerous, including "extremist" sites, those linked with trafficking in arms, drugs, or human beings, and those which are pornographic or incite violence.

IDG News Service

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