In the interest of discussing software freedom, this bit of news is both surprising and challenges the ideas that we hold about freedom & democracy as “exports” from the United States.

Currently, President Obama is attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas, where Heads of State from 34 countries in the Americas meet to discuss regional policies for North, Central & South America. All of the countries of the Americas are represented - except Cuba.

These summits have a history of controversy and violence. During the Fourth Summit of the Americas, held in Argentina in 2005, large protests over the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the policies of the Bush Administration in Latin America led to pitched battles in the streets, complete with tear gas and Molotov cocktails. The Third Summit of the Americas became known as the Battle of Quebec, with similar violence erupting out of large-scale protests.

The Fifth Summit is being closely watched because of the significant political re-alignment of the Americas since these “siege summits” happened. Along with the new leadership in the United States, the wide-scale shift to the left in Latin America has meant that people like Evo Morales (who was one of the protesters during the last two summits) are now participating in the summit as Heads of State. Because of this shift, there is heavy pressure on the United States to end their 50-year embargo on Cuba and insistence that Cuba be banned from the Summit of the Americas.

In a related issue, bloggers are starting to take notice that countries like China are not the only ones to enforce a “national firewall” - as every sysadmin knows, a firewall controls both incoming and outgoing packets! And the “United States firewall” has been exposed by LinkedIn’s official policy of banning users from Cuba, Syria, Sudan, Iran and North Korea. Apparently, Google and Sun also ban users from these countries because of U.S. embargo laws.

Here is the official support response from LinkedIn to a user from Syria who lost their LinkedIn account:

Dear Anas,
Per the terms of our User Agreement, use of LinkedIn services, including our software, is subject to export and re-export control laws and regulations. This includes the Export Administration Regulations maintained by the United States Department of Commerce and sanctions programs maintained by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Under the User Agreement, LinkedIn Users warrant that they are not prohibited from receiving U.S. origin products, including services or software. As such, and as a matter of corporate policy, we do not allow member accounts or access to our site from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.
Regards,
Kelly
LinkedIn Customer Support