On the Suspension of Persian Blogs by the Hosting Company Bluehost
Gozaar.org / Arash Kamangir
31-Mar-2009

Today’s rapidly
growing and evolving blogosphere presents virtually every person with
the opportunity to publish their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on the
internet. It can be argued that nobody appreciates this opportunity
more than people living under governments that suppress Freedom of
Speech. Blogs give these individuals an outlet through which they can
make their voices heard. Unfortunately, in mid-February, many of these
voices were silenced as Bluehost, one of the world’s largest hosting
companies, decided to act on Article 13 in its Terms of Service. Article
13 restricts the use of Bluehost’s services in countries sanctioned
under U.S. international law. As an unfortunate side-effect to the
blanket-ban, users both inside and outside of the sanctioned countries
have been notified that their sites are coming down. Many of the blogs
run by people outside of their countries are being removed because of
their association with the country. This issue has worried many
bloggers and human rights organizations that see blogging as a means to
get around blocks on freedom of speech. In this article, written by a
popular Iranian blogger, Arash Kamangir talks about the repercussions
of Bluehost’s actions ... >>>

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