Google Cloud blocks access from Iran and some other countries.

[alirezaalavi87]

Sanctions are inhumane and absolutely against the philosophy of freedom. I liked this app and even wanted to write a CLI client for it but when I turned off my VPN I realised people from my country (Iran) are fully forbidden to access these sites.
very shameful behavior for anyone to participate in. It does not matter what our government believes and does, the people all around the world must have equal access to the Internet. Governments are restricting our access to the internet enough, don't be the 100th problem out of our 99 problems.

Anyone who participates in restricting the free access to the internet, knowledge, and free software must be ashamed (Docker, Gitlab, medium, omnivore, and many more )

[jacksonh]

Hi @alirezaalavi87 we don't explicitly restrict access to anyone, however Google Cloud our hosting provider does block access.

[jacksonh]

There isn't a lot of info on this posted by Google, but some info here: https://support.google.com/a/answer/2891389?hl=en

[alirezaalavi87]

We can't protest Google of course, They will be always evil. So protesting the next closest link in the chain (which in this case is the omnivore app) is the solution. I know maintaining an opensource app is hard and costly but issues like this must be taken seriously.

[jacksonh]

OK, well do you have a proposed action here?

[alirezaalavi87]

Changing the hosting provider from google cloud is an option of course, but I understand how it is not very crucial (in a financial and effort perspective) to change the provider just because of a minority of countries. Just this issue gaining attention is very important. Most people around the world might not think about how being blocked from a big portion of the internet can effect our lives.

[ntelogo]

@jacksonh I understand that cloud storage alternative to Google might incur significant costs for your service. But have you perhaps considered reaching out to the community for support? I'd become a Omnivore's patron if I knew it is safeguarding privacy (another downside of using Google services) and providing equal access opportunities for all.

[jacksonh]

Hi @ntelogo thanks you can donate here: https://opencollective.com/omnivore

[ntelogo]

Hi @ntelogo thanks you can donate here: https://opencollective.com/omnivore

Happy to.. and please follow-up with news on any efforts to de-Google your service. I'd be happy to amplify the message!