South Africa's Web address administrator has moved the zone file
for the address to a location beyond the reach of
authorities.
Mike Lawrie, the administrator of South Africa's .za domain suffix,
said he hid the zone file, which points users to specific domains,
because he believed a bill passed by parliament would give the
government too much power over the Internet.
The bill, introduced by Parliament member Nkenke Kekana, still has
to pass the country's National Council of Provinces and be signed
by President Thabo Mbeki before it becomes law.
"I think that I have to do this," Lawrie said in a telephone
interview today. "I don't really regard it as drastic action."
However, Lawrie admitted that some of his countrymen see him as
being disloyal.
Kekana, a member of the African National Congress party, could not
be reached for comment. An ANC spokeswoman said a leading member of
the party had died and Kekana was busy arranging a funeral service.
According to the language of the Electronic Communications and
Transactions Bill, the aim is to promote usage of the Internet and
greater access among South African residents. One of the provisions
of the bill, however, is that the government would take over
administration of the .za domain.
Lawrie said there are few governments in the world that exercise
that kind of control over the Internet.
He added that the issue boils down to how much involvement the
government should have. He said that he is hopeful the dispute will
have an amicable settlement. Namespace.za is in talks with some
government officials which, Lawrie said, "sounds very
constructive".
Until then, however, Lawrie will keep the zone file hidden.