The Syrian TV station Addounia TV's website is hosted on Canadian servers
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — A new report finds that websites of some ministries of the Syrian government, a Syrian television station and Hezbullah media arm Al-Manar are being hosted on Canada-based web servers. Canadian researchers at the Citizen Lab say that this could be in violation of Canadian sanctions against Syria since its use of brutal police and military forces to suppress the political uprising over the past eight months.
The report says that sanctions imposed by Canada against Syria currently list 56 individuals and 21 entities including the Addounia TV station, as “designated persons” to which Canadian persons are banned from making goods available. It is unclear if providing hosting services is in fact considered in violation of the Canadian sanction, however the US sanctions includes “the direct or indirect exportation of web hosting services that are for purposes other than personal communications or of domain name registration services.”
According to the report, 17 Syrian government websites are hosted by Canadian providers, seven by US providers and two by German firms. The US also has a sanction against Syria, and US based web hosts like SoftLayer and Host Dime are listed as hosting Syrian government sites in the report. The research claims that in Canada, iWeb and Rackforce are hosting several Syrian government sites as well. iWeb told the Globe and Mail that it does not disclose information about clients unless required by law, and that it is always collaborating with competent authorities whenever formal complaints are made.
The US and Canada have anti-terrorism legislation that may violated if the web host knows that is participating in or contributing to – directly or indirectly – any activity of a terrorist group. Hezbullah is designated a terrorist organization by both the US and Canada, according to the report.
The nature of services bought online makes it difficult for hosts to know who is purchasing their services as it is automatically provisioned. Until an abuse complaint is issued, web hosts have no way of knowing that a site such as the Syrian TV station Addounia TV are hosted on their servers. This report may be the first time the web hosts listed have learned this information.
The report points out that removing an organization’s website could be treated as potential infringement on freedom of speech and access to information.
“Our findings peel back the layers of a complex, highly nuanced, and often seamy world of web hosting,” Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab and Canada Centre for Global Security Studies at Munk School of Global Affairs at University of Toronto said in a statement. “That Syrian government websites, including a Syrian state-backed television station known to be inciting violence, are hosted in Canada, is at minimum in contradiction to Canada’s stated foreign policy and possibly material support to a regime that is now globally condemned for its repression and violence. We encourage governments, civil society, and the private sector to seriously consider how best to handle the expanding responsibilities of web hosting companies and how due process and proper accountability mechanisms can be normalized in ways that protect free speech and access to information, while avoiding support for human rights abuses and repressive regimes in ways that we document in this report.”
The report concludes that it is a tricky situation for web hosts. It is unrealistic for web hosts to police the Internet, the report says, and web hosts are typically not called upon to take action without first receiving a take down request. Web hosting companies should “carefully assess and not misinterpret government sanctions and designated persons lists, as misinterpretation can also create negative human rights impact,” the report says. It suggests web hosts “do their best to gauge the intermediaries with whom they are contracting.” This may be ideal, but again, it is difficult for web hosts to do this kind of monitoring with each client until a compliant is issued.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson writes full-time for the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, and has been writing for the WHIR since September 2010. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
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