"La estimata gvidanto perdos la batalon." asertas jena artikolo en germana lingvo:

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/digi...ampf-1.1250927

Here is the detailed information. Taken from here [my comments are in square brackets]:
http://news.tut.by/society/267317.html

So, the top 5 misconceptions are:

1. Belarusians will be forbidden to visit foreign websites. Those who break this law will be fined.

**In reality:** neither decree No. 60, nor KoAP RB [Codex for Administrative crimes of Republic of Belarus] forbid visiting foreign websites. Article 22.16 of KoAP RB doesn't make any provide any punishments for Internet users, they have right to use foreigh Internet resources, as well as buy goods and services there [well, it's difficult anyway, because PayPal doesn't work with Belarus; mostly Russian sites are available]. And they can also, if they wish so, visit the sites included in the restricted access list.

2. Deals made by Belarusian users on foreign Internet resources can be considered invalid. Foreign Internet resources have no right to provide services for Belarusian users and can block access for Belarusian users so as not to break Belarusian laws.

**In reality.** As has already been mentioned, Belarusian laws don't restrict users' rights to make deals on foreigh sites. What concerns legal entities and entrepreneurs, who are not residents of RB, they are not under the Belarusian juridiction and their actions are not regulared by Belarusian laws, with the exception of representatives of foreign legal entities that are registered in RB.

3. To offer goods, work or services on the Belarusian territory, one must use only the Internet resources with a doman name in the BY zone.

**In reality.** The legislation makes a provision that the informational resource should be situated on the territory of Republic of Belarus and be registered in the State registry of informational networks, systems and resources of the national segment of the Internet computer network, that are situated on the Belarusian territory. There is no requirement that the site must have a domain name in the BY zone. A site that has a domain name in a foreign zone and Belarusian hosting belongs to the national segment of the Internet networc (according to the definition of the national segment, given in the decree No. 60), and it fully satisfies the requirememnts for registration in the state registry. Mandatory use of domain names in the BY zone is provisioned only for state organs and organisations, this is separately stated in the decree of the Council of Ministers of RB, 24.09.2010 No. 645.

4. The owners of the places of collective Internet use must spy on their users and check if Belarusian users don't visit foreign sites. Otherwise they will be fined and their business will be closed.

**In reality.** As we have mentioned above, Belarusian users are not forbidden to visit foreign sites and laws don't make the owners of the places of collective internet access check this. There are responsible for obeying the requirements for identification of user devices when providing the Internet services and/or users of Internet service, keeping information about user devices and personal data on the Internet users, as well as the information of the Internet services rendered.

5. Belarus creates a mandatory restriction, sites in the black list will be blocked.

**In reality.** Mandatory restriction is in power only in governmental organs and organisations, as well as educational and cultural organisations. For other users the access restriction service [sic!] is offered if they wish so, but any user can visit any sites.

It should be noted, that currently the restricted access list includes not only (most) sites with pornographic and frankly extremist content, but also such sites as _сharter97.org_, _belaruspartisan.org_ and _prokopovi.ch_. Paragraph 20 of the decree of Presidential Operative analysis centre, Communications and informatisation ministry, June, 29 2010 No. 4/11 "About the setting the procedury of restricting Internet user access to the information that is forbidden for propagation according to the legislative acts" provides the possibility to appeal agains the governmental organs, authorised to create the list, in the court. The time will show whether any of the site owners will use such a possibility and whether it will be effective. [Of course it won't.]

Believe it or not, visiting foreign websited is not forbidden.

These ‘news’ seems to come from the Library of Congress. I don't know if it is a lie or misunderstanding, but others just parroted this rumour.


IN REALITY this law forces Internet providers to save information about their users. If they don't save this information, they are fined.

Users are allowed to visit any websited they want.

[If they visit websites that KGB doesn't like, police will just ‘see’ them saying swearwords in public, or invent some other crime for them. But this is not written in the laws, of course.]

ACCORDING TO THE LAW, there are no punishment for users visiting any website.