Beltelecom buys equipment for blocking websites

• 18.05.2015, 13:12

The announcement was posted on Belarus' e-procurement website on Friday.

Beltelecom announced a tender to buy hardware and software to block websites as well as collect and store information on the sites visited by internet users, Euroradio reports.

The tender was published on Friday, May 15, but no one has replied to it yet. Beltelecom says the price of the equipment was not set as the company expects potential suppliers to offer their price.

The new law on mass media that allows blocking websites took force in Belarus. Several sites have already been blocked this year, but no one claimed the responsibility for that. All agencies explained it with a glitch.

Internet service providers already have technical capabilities to block sites, but they did it only for state-owned bodies and educational establishment. The new law allows blocking sites for all users in Belarus. A number of websites were put on the blacklist, but their blocking is carried out by ISPs. Beltelecom apparently decided to buy own equipment.

Two news websites – Radio Racyja and Free Region (Svobodny Region) – have lately received the first warning.