Burma Censors Internet Content

The latest country added to the list of Internet censors is Burma, or Myanmar, a state which uses technologies to filter and control access to online content.

OpenNet Initiative announced they detected in Burma the usage of American software tools to filter online content and e-mail messages. The same solutions were used by other countries which censor Internet domains.

The Burmese government probably won't worry too much about these accusations, since it didn't care about much more serious charges (murder, torture and so on) brought by the U.S. State Department.

The sites containing unacceptable or disturbing information, as well as those which offer pornography, drug information, entertainment or politics related content are blocked. The solution used by the authorities for online filtering is called Fortiguard, created by the Californian company Fortinet. Prior to this solution, Burma used open-source type solutions to censor the sites.

It's worth noting that Fortinet uses a network of distributors to sell its products, and Burma doesn't have such a distributor. What's more interesting is that, according to the American laws, one of the conditions Fortinet has to fulfill is to prevent the distribution of their products in countries that are under embargo.