the i-witnesses

US ‘bans’ access to Google Earth in Sudan

Only days after Google joined up with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to map the conflict in Darfur, the US Treasury has apparently banned access to images from Google Earth in Sudan as part of its ongoing export controls and economic sanctions against the country.

The Treasury states that “except for information or informational materials and donated articles intended to relieve human suffering, such as food, clothing and medicine, and the licensed export of agricultural commodities… no goods, technology, or services may be exported from the United States to Sudan”.

The US Bureau of Industry prohibits the export of software to Sudan, unless it is pre-loaded onto a ‘commodity’ such as a mobile phone or computer. As Google Earth is hosted in the United States, downloading the software in Sudan is also subject to these restrictions.

However, Stefan Geens of the Ogle Earth blog notes that the internet has the tools to circumvent this ban – for example, through proxy servers and peer-to-peer networks. Perhaps more importantly, Stefan raises a pertinent question: where does ‘information’ end and ‘software’ begin?

Opening the (Bill) Gates to low-cost software

Bill Gates announced at last week’s Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in Beijing that Microsoft will be offering its software to students in developing countries for just a few dollars. Developing country governments will be able to buy the Student Innovation Suite for $3 per student, thereby subsidising the cost of PCs for potentially billions of users.

Microsoft describes its move as promoting “sustained social and economic opportunity”. But this apparently philanthropic act – which undoubtedly has market expansion at its heart – is likely to play a powerful role in shaping debates on open source software and state procurement policy on proprietary software.

Microsoft critics view the announcement as a threat to recognising the potential of open source software. I also fear that this seemingly lucrative offer could slow down the pace of developing nations’ commitment towards open source software, which started as a way to minimise software procurement cost and maximise the localisation of language and content.

> Read Panos London’s briefing on open source software

Africa gets connected

At long last the World Bank has approved a US$164.5 million package to connect East and Southern Africa to the global broadband infrastructure – which will enable cheaper access to the internet and international phonecalls.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be US$424 million. The Bank's money is currently limited to connecting Burundi, Madagascar and Kenya, although "other eligible countries in East and Southern Africa can join future phases of the program on a readiness basis".

The region is the one remaining part of the world to be connected to the fibre optic network that many of us take for granted, with 20 countries relying on expensive satellite technology. This means their citizens have to fork out much more to communicate with each other: they pay around US$92 to spend 20 hours online compared to the world average of US$40.

It’s about time Africa got connected, particularly given the recent announcement of Kenya’s withdrawal from the EASSy project. I wonder if the release of these new funds might persuade Kenya to reconsider.