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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, the denied persons list and the entity list , and other lists published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Industry and Security.
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 one that still places open source at the heart of its ideals, these restrictions on the free flow of information undoubtedly put SourceForge on a difficult path. But the need to comply with the law overrides our desire to promote the greatest possible inclusion in our communities. Potential penalties for violating these restrictions include fines and imprisonment. Other US-based hosting companies face 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 arguably be the largest repository of open-source projects on the Internet, blocks user downloads if they are located in certain "prohibited locations" mentioned in its terms of use :
“Users residing in countries on the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list , including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, are prohibited from posting or accessing 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 long-denounced Google policy.
Ironically, this would contradict the very definition of "Open Source ," the category under which the projects to which SourceForge and Google restrict access include themselves. The definition of Open Source explicitly excludes this practice in the 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 for hosting open-source projects in places other than the discriminatory restrictions of the U.S. government. According to this list , these include GitHub , Gitorious , GNU Savannah , JavaForge , Launchpad , and Tigris.org , among others. (Taken from vivab0rg )