Belarus Restricts Internet

From the BBC:
"Belarus puts restrictions on foreign internet sites"

A new law in Belarus will restrict access to foreign websites and force internet clubs and cafes to report users visiting sites registered abroad. The law, which takes effect on Friday, says anyone selling goods or services to Belarus citizens on the web must use the .by Belarusian domain name. That would make it illegal for firms like Amazon or eBay to sell goods to customers in Belarus. Fines for breaking the law range as high as 1m Belarus rubles (£77; $120). The law says people offering internet services to the public - whether at a cafe, club or in their own home - will face fines if their customers visit foreign websites and such visits are not properly recorded and reported.

^ This is just one more step in Belarus tightening its complete control over its people that has been going on since 1994. Instead of fixing its economy and human rights record the Belarussian government simply want to make it harder for ordinary Belorussians to learn the truth from the outside world in the hope that they don't see how awful things are and seek change. This is another example of the strict control that exists in many countries of the former Soviet Union 20 years since its collapse. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16407235