On Junuary 28, the Kazakhstani Internet users were suddenly granted access to LiveJournal – the most popular blog platform in the post-Soviet Russian-speaking blogosphere. It was blocked by the national ISP on October 7 last year under unknown reasons – “Kazakhtelecom” has never acknowledged the fact of filtering.
We used various technical tricks to access Livejournal. On January 28, it has been unblocked. Who made a decision to filter it and to open it up – we don't know. How long will we have an opportunity to enjoy open access to it – we don't know. Maybe I have to scream “hurray”, but for some reason I want to curse.
said [1] eev [ru].
Many bloggers did not believe the unexpected happiness – their Livejournals were full of excited posts. Skeptics were doubtful [2], and lord-fame was among them [ru]:
I bet ten to one that they will find the “bug” and block the website again.
graveric added [3]:
There is a suspicion that a petty trouble occured somewhere at Kazakhtelecom. It will be fixed soon.
That's exactly what has happened by the evening of the next day. Cyber-gorynych [4] says [5] that there was an upgrade of equipment on Kazakhtelecom, while lord-of-silence [4] explains it with the change of IP addresses of Livejournal itself, so that they were temporarily open for the users, but later they were filtered [ru].
We shall remind that this fuss is taking place against the background of the new draft law on Internet regulation, currently under consideration in the Parliament. As pulemetchizza comments [6] [ru]:
The law, if adopted, will determine which website should be open for the Kazakhstani citizens, and which websites should be banned here. What Kazakhlecom did illegally and on the sly with Livejournal, will be possible to do with any other website – and legally. On the pretext of threat to national security. The decision will be made by the prosecutor without sending a notice to the website owner.
Earlier reports on Livejournal blockage in Kazakhstan here [7] and here [8].
Also posted on neweurasia [9].