On Mon, 29 Jul 2019 11:34:55 +1200, Peter Reutemann quoted:
'After a developer based in the Crimea region of Ukraine was blocked from GitHub this week, the Microsoft-owned software development platform said it has started restricting accounts in countries facing U.S. trade sanctions. GitHub lists Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syris as countries facing U.S. sanctions.'
Al Jazeera also has a report <https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/locked-tech-company-comply-iran-sanctions-190731081829014.html>. Seemed like some people were targeted based on their origin, not on where they were actually living (e.g. Iranians living overseas). Also, this: Just a day before GitHub's restrictions went into effect, Special US Representative for Iran Brian Hook denied the US sanctions technology used for communications in Iran, calling it a "myth". "Unlike your regime, we believe strongly in the free flow of communication and information," Hook said in a televised message. "You deserve access to information and to be able to communicate with each other and the world." The restrictions apparently only applied to private repositories. GitHub allowed impacted users to retrieve their data by turning their private repositories into public ones. Hardly an acceptable solution ...