The Ethiopian government has issued a decree making the use of VoIP services a criminal offense. Anyone caught using Skype or Google Talkmay receive a term of up to 15 years. This is done for national security purposes.
The ban also applies to communication on social media via audio or video. Interestingly, the law was adopted a month ago, but it became known outside the country only today.
It is also reported that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Ethiopia is given unlimited power to control the activities of companies that deal in equipment related to communications and information technology.
It is believed that one of the reasons for the adoption of such a tough law is the desire of the state to retain a monopoly on communication services.
