New York Times: Yugoslavians Fear Web Will Be Cut Off

[bill@mail.nic.nu (J. Wiliam Semich)]

Hello;

Many of us have discussed the potential problem of government use of the
Internet (in particular, the possibility of a US government decision to
pull, say, ILibya's ccTLD out of the root server or shutting off IP
address blocks to Iraq) as a mechanism of military intervention or to
effect International political policies over the past several months,
but this is the first time it has appeared in a news story.

Regards,

Bill Semich
.NU Domain (Niue, the South Pacific)
(Please Note My New Email Address Is Now : bill@mail.nic.nu)

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES PRINT EDITION:

May 15, 1999

          Yugoslavians Fear Web Will Be Cut Off

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                   By CARLOTTA GALL

               BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Internet users rushed to send
               last-minute E-mail messages at a downtown Internet cafe
Friday,
          after word circulated that the United States was going to cut
off
          Yugoslavia from the World Wide Web.

          "There was a rush here, and many people heard it was going to
be shut
          down," said Borivoj Ivanovic, 23, a Web master at the
Multimedia
          Center Maverick cafe.

          The loss of access is just a threat. But Internet providers
here said they
          worry that a partial shutdown of the Internet -- the lone
means of
          communication for many in Serbia -- is imminent.

          Behind the fears is an Executive Order by President Clinton
that took
          effect on May 1, updating a 1998 order to prevent American
companies
          from dealing in goods, services and technology with
Yugoslavia.

          The effects have been almost immediate for companies like
Informatika,
          an Internet provider and a software and hardware supplier in
Belgrade.
          Its general manager said he had been notified by some American

          companies that he can no longer receive their services.

          The Administration denied trying to cut the flow of
information to
          Yugoslavia and said it would not try to limit Internet access
in
          Yugoslavia.

          The National Security Council has said information services
are generally
          exempt from embargoes, but electronic commerce is not. The
Internet
          performs both functions.
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