Technology notebook

  • Saturday, January 2, 2010 11:08pm
  • Business

Belarus clamps down on Net use

Belarus’ authoritarian leader is promising to toughen regulation of the Internet and its users in an apparent effort to exert control over the last fully free medium in the former Soviet state.

“We will identify any person who disseminates lies and dirt, and will make them answer strictly to the law,” President Alexander Lukashenko said Wednesday.

He told journalists that a new Internet bill, proposed Tuesday, would require the registration and identification of all online publications and of each Web user, including visitors to Internet cafes. Web service providers would have to report this information to police, courts and special services.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, weeding out opposition and dissidents. All television channels and most print media have become state-controlled, and many of the independent newspapers ordered closed have taken refuge in cyberspace.

Last June, Belarus adopted a media bill that allowed the government to close Web sites without warning and imprison journalists for reproducing foreign media reports.

Lukashenko won a third term in 2006 in an election that Western governments deemed fraudulent.

Ebay users dailed in when shopping

EBay shoppers used cell phones to make more purchases this holiday season than in past years. And it was not just to buy the hot toy du jour, Zhu Zhu Pets.

The online marketplace operator said Monday that people used cell phones to buy 1.5 million products in the past several weeks — three times the number for the same period last year, which ran from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve.

EBay said holiday mobile purchases include a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette that sold for $75,000 and a 23-foot boat that sold for $19,108. Other items bought through mobile applications included watches, cell phones and video games.

Counting both mobile and traditional online purchases, eBay users bought more than 500,000 Zhu Zhu Pets robotic hamsters.

EBay, which is based in San Jose, Calif., said nearly 6 million people have eBay’s applications on iPhones and people use mobile apps to visit its site more than 2 million times each day. EBay released its mobile Web site in 2007 and its iPhone application in 2008.

For the full year, eBay users completed more than $500 million worth of transactions on cell phones.

Associated Press

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A standard jet fuel, left, burns with extensive smoke output while a 50 percent SAF drop-in jet fuel, right, puts off less smoke during a demonstration of the difference in fuel emissions on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sustainable aviation fuel center gets funding boost

A planned research and development center focused on sustainable aviation… Continue reading

FILE — Jet fuselages at Boeing’s fabrication site in Everett, Wash., Sept. 28, 2022. Some recently manufactured Boeing and Airbus jets have components made from titanium that was sold using fake documentation verifying the material’s authenticity, according to a supplier for the plane makers. (Jovelle Tamayo/The New York Times)
Boeing adding new space in Everett despite worker reduction

Boeing is expanding the amount of space it occupies in… Continue reading

Paul Roberts makes a speech after winning the Chair’s Legacy Award on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Paul Roberts: An advocate for environmental causes

Roberts is the winner of the newly established Chair’s Legacy Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Laaysa Chintamani speaks after winning on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Laasya Chintamani: ‘I always loved science and wanted to help people’

Chintamani is the recipient of the Washington STEM Rising Star Award.

Dave Somers makes a speech after winning the Henry M. Jackson Award on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County Executive Dave Somers: ‘It’s working together’

Somers is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mel Sheldon makes a speech after winning the Elson S. Floyd Award on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mel Sheldon: Coming up big for the Tulalip Tribes

Mel Sheldon is the winner of the Elson S. Floyd Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County

Craig Skotdal makes a speech after winning on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Craig Skotdal: Helping to breathe life into downtown Everett

Skotdal is the recipient of the John M. Fluke Sr. award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County

Katie Wallace, left, checks people into the first flight from Paine Field to Honolulu on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Executive order makes way for Paine Field expansion planning

Expansion would be a long-range project estimated to cost around $300 million.

Dick’s Drive-In announces opening date for new Everett location

The new drive-in will be the first-ever for Everett and the second in Snohomish County.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

The Coastal Community Bank branch in Woodinville. (Contributed photo)
Top banks serving Snohomish County with excellence

A closer look at three financial institutions known for trust, service, and stability.

Image from Erickson Furniture website
From couch to coffee table — Local favorites await

Style your space with the county’s top picks for furniture and flair.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.