Online Learning Update

February 14, 2014

How American Economic Sanctions Are Hurting Innocent Students in Iran, Cuba, & Sudan

Filed under: Online Learning News — Ray Schroeder @ 12:09 am

by Joshua Kopstein, Daily Beast

Coursera, which offers free online courses so that “anyone around the world can learn without limits,” said last week that they were compelled to begin blocking IP addresses associated with the countries, after finding that their site was in violation of U.S. export laws. “Coursera is working very closely with the U.S. Department of State and Office of Foreign Assets Control to secure permissions to reinstate site access for students in sanctioned countries,” the company reassured on its blog. A few hours later, the site stopped blocking Syria after discovering that the country’s sanctions contain an exemption for non-government organizations focused on “extending access to education.” But around 2,000 students in Iran, Cuba, and Sudan remain cut off. The site now greets them with the following message:

“Our system indicates that you are trying to access the Coursera site from an IP address associated with a country currently subjected to US economic and trade sanctions. In order for Coursera to comply with US export controls, we cannot allow you to access to the site.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/09/how-american-economic-sanctions-are-hurting-innocent-students-in-iran-cuba-sudan.html

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