Ethiopia: Skype me maybe
Ethiopia's communications crackdown targets Skype.
Jun 14


A new law in Ethiopia has criminalised the use of VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) services such as Skype. Users could face up to 15 years of jail time. The law was passed May 24th, but the story wasn't picked up by international media until recently.

Here are some highlights from around the web:

In Ethiopia using a service like Skype is "theoretically punishable by fifteen years in prison!" #CensoredEthiopia


#Ethiopia - #Skype, not allowed please use smoke signals


@SomaliThinker as far as media is concerned#Ethiopia is a nation in the stone age period,held hostage by dictatorship and anti-free media
http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/ethio ... be-0022243

Scared...

Manchester University student 'faces jail for using Skype' if deported to Ethiopia

A Manchester University student fighting deportation to Ethiopia is claiming he faces a lengthy-jail term for using Skype.

IT student Yidnek Haile, 31, fled his homeland claiming he was being hunted by police for using the software.

The programme - which allows computer users to speak and video conference for free - is banned in the East African state, where there is a state-owned telephone service.
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... o-ethiopia

Eden,
do you use Skype ?

We prohibited everything and it is not working, what shall we do next? Do you think running would be a good idea...

Adwash/aka/akele
Do you use Skype, old man ?

Tigreans do not use Skyp, its a foreign technology and they do not like foreighn technology, they like to use Tigrean discovered technology only, such as, AigaForum.com, TigraiOnline.com and EthioMedia.com.

Tigray-Prodigy,
Do you use Skype ?

Ethiopia criminalises Skype

The Ethiopian government has clamped down on Internet-based voice-calling services, making their use a criminal offence.

By Craig Wilson on 14 June 2012.


Ethiopia’s state-owned Internet service provider, the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (Ethio-Telcom), has begun performing deep-packet inspection of all Internet traffic in the country. The country’s government recently ushered in new legislation that criminalises the use of services such as Skype, Google Talk and other forms of Internet phone calling.

The new law, which came into effect on 24 May, makes use of Internet voice services punishable by hefty fines and up to 15 years in prison.

The official line from the government is that the move is intended to protect national security and protect the national, state-owned telecoms carrier from losing revenue to Skype and similar services; this, despite the fact that Ethiopia’s fixed-line penetration rate is the second worst in Africa (after Sierra Leone) at an estimated 1% of its 85m strong population.

Ethiopia has instituted numerous restrictions on its digital community in recent years. The government has previously closed down Internet cafes offering voice-over-Internet protocol services and, in December 2006, made it obligatory for Internet cafes to keep records of the names and addresses of their customers in an effort to clamp down on bloggers and other users critical of the regime.

The new law prohibits all VoIP traffic along with audio and video data traffic via social media. The Africa Review reports that the law also gives the government the right to inspect any imports of voice communication equipment and accessories.

The OpenNet Initiative, which tracks Internet filtering and surveillance, says in a report on Ethiopia that the country already blocks all blogs hosted at blogspot.com and at nazret.com, a site that aggregates Ethiopian news and has space for blogs and forums.

The new legislation is no doubt also motivated by the events of the Arab Spring that saw mass protests organised via social media. With many bloggers critical of Ethiopia’s current government, censorship by the state looks likely to increase. — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media

http://www.techcentral.co.za/ethiopia-c ... ype/32723/

OMG!