CPJ сondemns seizure of domain names from independent media in Belarus
The International Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemned the seizure of domain names with the .by extension from independent media in Belarus and requested comment from the Presidential Executive and Analytical Center and ICANN.
CPJ issued a statement strongly condemning the Belarusian authorities’ decision to seize domain names of independent media outlets and calling for an end to the use of extremism legislation as a tool of censorship.
“Robbing independent media outlets of their domain names – and the Belarusian public of important information – is a ruthless form of censorship,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “After jailing or forcing into exile independent journalists and silencing critical media, Belarusian authorities are trying to stifle the free flow of information on the internet by weaponizing their shameful extremism legislation.”
CPJ notes that Belarus is experiencing an unprecedented crackdown on the media. As of April 22, 2024, at least 20 news sites were displaying a message that the resource was unavailable following the EAC order. In 2023, the Belarusian authorities canceled the domain names of three independent media outlets – ex-press.by, Brestskaya Gazeta and Tut.by, as well as the domain name of the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
Reform.by, which is known for its investigative work, and Media-Polesye said they received letters from the EAC informing them that their websites’ domain names would be canceled on April 15.
Sviatlana Harda, editor-in-chief of Media-Polesye, told CPJ that the move was “another blow to the independent media, proof that readers are being deprived of their right to receive objective information.” She said the number of visitors to Media-Polesye was only just approaching the volume that it had been before authorities blocked the website in September 2021.
«We almost reached the previous figures and here is a new blow,» she said.
Reform.news editor-in-chief Fiodar Pauluchenka told CPJ that the outlet would have to try to ensure that all of its readers knew that it had moved to a new internet address.
«What is more important here is that the Belarusian authorities violated international obligations on fair distribution of national domain names. There should be a reaction to such actions, not only from fellow journalists but also from international organizations that manage the internet,» he said, referring to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit responsible for handling domain name disputes.
According to Barys Haretski, deputy chairman of the BAJ, media outlets whose domain name was canceled were likely to see a drop in audience figures because readers could not find the old websites that they had bookmarked, and search engines like Google ranked established websites higher than new ones.
CPJ’s emails to the Executive and Analytical Center and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers requesting comment did not immediately receive any responses.