Github is a platform which aims to connect developers from various countries to develop and share better software. It is owned by Microsoft and has recently started to block developers based on their region.
Anatoliy Kashkin a Russian developer residing in Crimea region in Ukraine stated that his account was restricted for this week for no apparent reason.
He used GitHub to host GameHub launcher for Linux that brings GOG, Steam, and Humble Bundle games in one place. He also publishes his personal blog on GitHub.
He shared this screenshot and posted that he won’t be able to maintain GameHub in future. As his GitHub account has been restricted due to US sanctions as he lives in Crimea, Ukraine.
A similar incident happened with the Iran based software developer name Hamed Saeedi. He posted on medium to report that his GitHub account was restricted.
In his post, he explained how he was using GitHub since 2012 when they announced that GitHub is free with unlimited private repositories.
And then on 25th July, he received this email from GitHub
According to GitHub, they have been transparent about this issue on their Trade control support page:
“To comply with U.S. trade control laws, GitHub recently made some required changes to the way we conduct our services.”
Since GitHub is a platform to connect developer across the world, these terms and condition do not match its goal and GitHub loses its essence under pressure of the US laws.
