Free-speech, freeware advocates are winners in rule change

Feds allow those in Iran, Sudan and Cuba to download free communications software from U.S. - let the revolution begin

By Amy Vernon on Tue, 03/09/10 - 7:24pm.

Champions of free speech and free software had much to cheer for today, after the U.S. government lifted restrictions against disseminating free communications tools in Iran, Sudan and Cuba.

The major rule change in the Iranian Transactions Regulations, Sudanese Sanctions Regulations and Cuban Assets Control Regulations gives blanket approval to U.S. companies to allow access in those nations to free services and software that include:

web browsing
blogging
e-mail, instant messaging and chat
social networking
photo and movie sharing

Other licenses may be issued on a case-by-case basis to other software or services not specifically covered in the list.

"Consistent with the Administration's deep commitment to the universal rights of all the world's citizens, the issuance of these general licenses will make it easier for individuals in Iran, Sudan and Cuba to use the Internet to communicate with each other and with the outside world. Today's actions will enable Iranian, Sudanese and Cuban citizens to exercise their most basic rights," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin.

The move is a win not just for the residents of these three countries, where the computer-savvy likely were able to circumvent these restrictions before but the average person found themselves without the ability to easily access e-mail or, perhaps, Twitter. It's also a win for free software advocates, who heavily populate the open source community.

Over the last couple of months, SourceForge.net has been posting about the U.S. regulations and how it had to institute blocking procedures on the software available on the site so as not to run afoul of the feds. In complying with the U.S. government, however, SourceForge ran afoul of its community's beliefs and had to do some damage control:

We at SourceForge are fully committed to the ideals of free and open source software, including the principle of free exchange of information. We recognize that, for some people, the recent site changes called into question whether your support of us is justified.

It's a tough line to walk, when you're a U.S.-based site committed to the free and open dissemination of software but U.S. laws prohibit you from disseminating that software in certain places. But what better way to support the cause of freedom than to freely share information?

The U.S. rule change makes sense on multiple levels - in support of freedom of speech and expression, in support of free trade and commerce. The original regulation was borne out of a belief that if you control commerce done with a country, you can bring about change there. Some argue that sanctions forced change in South Africa; others argue they've done nothing to force the hand of governments in Iran or Cuba.

But sanctions pre-date the ability to share information freely over the Internet. It only makes sense for a country that prizes freedom of expression and speech so highly to facilitate that freedom in countries where those values are not so prized. Many argue that information is what sets people free; if that indeed is true, the U.S. has taken a solid step in empowering the people of Iran, Sudan and Cuba.