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Source Forge justifies the decision to block users that the US government includes on its blacklists. Here is a summary of the statement issued today: |
If you follow @SourceForge on Twitter, you probably saw some tweets last week from certain users outside the US complaining that they no longer had access to SourceForge.net. Here's why.
Since 2003, the terms and conditions of SourceForge.net have prohibited certain individuals from receiving services in accordance with U.S. law, including, without limitation, list of people denied and entity list, and other lists published by the US Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Industry and Safety.
The specific list of sanctions also affects users who are prohibited by law from transferring and exporting certain technology to foreign persons and governments that appear on the sanctions list. This means that users who reside in countries included in the sanctions list of the United States Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, will not be able to post content, or access the content available through SourceForge.net.
Last week SourceForge.net began the automatic blocking of certain IP addresses included in these blacklists, to enforce the conditions of use.
For one of the first leading companies to promote the adoption and distribution of free and open source software, and which still puts open source at the center of its ideals, these restrictions on the free flow of information unquestionably set SourceForge on a path. difficult ... but the need to comply with laws supersedes our desire to promote the greatest possible inclusion in our communities. Possible penalties for violating these restrictions include fines and imprisonment. Other US-based hosting companies have similar legal and technical restrictions.
We deeply regret that these sanctions may affect people who have no bad intention, along with those whom the rules are intended to punish. However, Until designated governments change their sanctions list practices, or change US government policies, the situation should remain as it is.
Sourceforge.net
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Sourceforge, which may still be arguably the largest repository of open source projects on the Internet, blocks user downloads if they are in some of the "forbidden locations" mentioned in their terms of use:
“Users residing in the countries on the sanctions list of the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria cannot publish or access the content available through Sourceforge.net. ”
This situation would be made even worse by the fact that Google Code, the site that offers services similar to Sourceforge for developers and free projects, would also block access to those same countries as part of a Google policy reported long ago.
Ironically, this would go against it. definition of what "Open Source" means, category under which the projects to which Sourceforge and Google restrict their access include themselves. The definition of Open Source explicitly excludes this practice in its following points:
5. Do not discriminate against people or groups. The license must not discriminate against any person or group of people.
6. Do not discriminate fields of application. The license must not restrict anyone from using the program in a specific field. For example, you cannot prohibit the program from being used in a business, or in genetic research. "
But, fortunately, there are alternatives to hosting open source projects elsewhere that are not under the discriminatory restrictions of the US government. she is ready this includes GitHub, gitorious, GNU Savannah, JavaForge, Launchpad y tigris.org, among others. (Taken from vivab0rg)