August 31, 2005 - (HOSTSEARCH.COM) - AllAfrica.com carried a news story today about web host Globat's decision to shut down the website Tensae.com that it was hosting.
In a political editorial AllAfrica.com hails the decision in light of Tensae's lack of support for criticism's of the government and a few private citizens. The editorial further goes on to say that the decision proves that Tensae's comments were defamatory and untrue.
In the end, who knows what the real situation is in Ethiopia?
Globat is simply following their TOS and disallowing unsupported criticism. Perhaps they are backing a ruthless dictator and clamping down on the last remaining free voice in the country or maybe they are heading off a violent insurgency before it takes root.
What is interesting here is how the global reach of the Internet can bring an small American web hosting company to the crux of a political debate in Africa.
Increasingly, as the Internet continues to expand and play an ever more important role in the world that web hosts will have to hold themselves to a higher level of responsibility than they do now and tread a razor thin line between righteous zealotry and shameless indifference.
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