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GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

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Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#141
Such cases highlight the importance of improving IPFS and Federation protocols, for example for Gitea[1][2] or GitLab[3][4]. Or just sponsoring them[5]. The source code for ForgeFed[6][7] might be also of interest for improvement.

[1] https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/1612

[2] https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/9045

[3] https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/6468

[4] https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/33665

[5] https://opencollective.com/gitea

[6] https://forgefed.peers.community/

[7] https://notabug.org/peers/forgefed

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#143
post #71

So many dimensions come to play here. 1. There's the obvious legal aspect i.e. how these laws are framed and interpreted. 2. Then there's the geopolitical aspect. Is it fair to impose sanctions on Iran. 3. There's another aspect around GitHub policy that asks if an entire organization be banned for the location of one team member. 4. Finally, there's the aspect of relinquishing control. Your app development is on the…

> Ironically, Git is a decentralized version control system. And Git is open source. Github is a US-registered company under MS. The US has a history of weaponizing its economic power. Stallman (RMS) was right once again.

But Github is reason why git is popular ...

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#144

Entrusting your business to an american entity is the stupidest idea you could have thought about. Especially us europeans should not rely on American services at all.It's not worth it. American corporations are just as much a liability as their counterparts in China.

>Especially us europeans should not rely on American services at all.It's not worth it. Sure, please let me know how the EU plans to build Office 365, AWS, GitHub competitors of similar scale, quality and success. We have no private investors that would pony up enough money to go against US tech titans and fat chance the EU would ever fund such initiatives and if they would, the money would evaporate over night to co…

The Silicon Valley wasn’t built overnight. The software industry is just taking off in the EU. Mind you, nobody would have thought that the US would loose their leading role in the Middle East, look at them now. I can see the same happening in tech.

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both you and the person you replied to are right. They are not mutually exclusive points. Famous example: MS Windows having a marketshare of 96% should not necessarily stop you from designing your business around linux.

Sure they are. Propose an EU or non-Chinese Asian alternative to AWS that is, say, 80% as efficient/effective. If that's not possible, then choosing AWS for your startup/scaling business is not the stupidest move you can make, assuming AWS fits your use case. "MS Windows having a marketshare of 96% should not necessarily stop you from designing your business around linux" But Windows doesn't have this kind of markets…

I think you're missing the point. It's less a question of "can you find an alternative that is at least 80% as efficient", and more a question of "is this 20% bump in efficiency worth the liability risk".

Your opinion is 'yes'. OP's opinion is 'no'.

Both are valid opinions and highly depend on the nature of your business.

But, OP's somewhat un-american sentiment aside (which I believe is mostly what you're reacting to, rather than the general nature of their argument), I agree that erring on the side of caution and minimizing external liabilities should be on the top of the agenda for any company.

And this is aside from the whole "support local infrastructure and don't empower monopolies further" argument.

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem rather outraged by the sensible assumption that parents living in Iran are probably Iranian, and that a person with two Iranian parents is probably also Iranian. In 2021, people are still directly related to their parents, and the majority of citizens in most countries is indeed the local population. They may of course have obtained American citizenship now, but we're talking in the context of crazy US sanct…

Such presumptions have, historically, led to such actions as the wholesale internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. This included 2nd and 3rd generations born in America, who never had left America. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_America... So, no, it's not merely a "sensible" assumption. It's an assumption that carries collective trauma and negative connotations for many wh…

You cannot relate two different ideas by virtue of one tangentially common theme.

It's common sense that most people are from the same country their parents are from, given what we know about immigration.

Interning people based on predicting their behavior due to ancestry is a whole different ballgame.

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#147

Entrusting your business to an american entity is the stupidest idea you could have thought about. Especially us europeans should not rely on American services at all.It's not worth it. American corporations are just as much a liability as their counterparts in China.

This is ridiculous. China requires access to your company code and pretty much owns you. The USA government is interfering as much as Europeans government do, by making stupid laws and demanding access when they can think of an excuse. Sure, it's bad but it's not as bad as China. You can't trust any government, but some are better than others.

Indeed, gives me hope for decentralised technologies like gitcoin, that could perhaps give more agency to developers.

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#148
post #112
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US embargo prevents doing business with Iran. Providing service in Iran would be a violation of the embargo. Blocking a whole European company not conducting business with Iran because one of its employee tried to login while there is not respecting the embargo, it's just overreach. GitHub should get flak for that in the same way Paypal regularly get flak for randomly freezing accounts.

> GitHub should get flak for that in the same way Paypal regularly get flak for randomly freezing accounts. Random? I think the problem with Paypal was that they do not warn or provide reasons for freezing. GH's reasons are clear. > Blocking a whole European company not conducting business with Iran because one of its employee tried to login while there is not respecting the embargo, it's just overreach. Says who? Th…

> Says who? There is a law, the law is unclear and IHMO a bad law.

Says the US Department of the Treasury, as mentioned in the Twitter thread further down:

> 118. I have a client that is in Iran to visit a relative. Do I need to restrict the account?

> No. As long as you are satisfied that the client is not ordinarily resident in Iran, then the account does not need to be restricted.

from their "FAQs: Iran sanctions" page — https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/...

Re: GitHub blocks entire company because one employee was in Iran

#150

I'm on GitHub/Microsoft's side here. They are not responsible for the content of US export control laws, and they have an incredible amount to lose if they are found to be in violation of US export control laws. Presumably GitHub needs some automated tool to prevent inbound traffic from sanctioned countries, and it's hard to be certain that they are complying with US law if such automated tools have some wiggle room…

Companies routinely engage in activism. I’ve seen more than one software company cut off Trump campaign from their services, which was politically motivated. Now, US sanctions against Iran are clearly illegal. Yet, everyone is just fine with that, no activism whatsoever. I say people should revolt.
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