"Sandvine's Technology Used for Web Censoring in More Than a Dozen Nations" 8 October 2020

(Bloomberg) — In Jordan,  Sandvine Inc.’s equipment was used to censor an LGBTQ website. Egypt’s government relied on Sandvine equipment to block access to independent news sites. In Azerbaijan, it was deployed for a social media blackout, current and former employees say.Last month, U.S. -based Sandvine, which is owned by the private equity firm Francisco Partners,  said it would stop selling its equipment in Belarus after Bloomberg News reported that it was used to censor the internet during a crucial election. In explaining its decision, the company said it abhors “the use of technology to suppress the free flow of information resulting in human rights violations.”

But the company’s equipment — which is often used to manage the flow of network traffic —  has also been used to censor the internet in more than a dozen countries in recent years,  according to three current, five former employees and company documents.  Those countries include Algeria, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Eritrea, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, according to Sandvine sales records with government agencies and network operators — both private and government-controlled —  seen by Bloomberg News...

...On the company’s website,  Lyndon Cantor, its chief executive officer, said, “Sandvine takes the use of our technology seriously.  I am committed to ensuring that Sandvine maintains the highest level of ethics and integrity in our activities in the marketplace.”In a previous statement explaining its decision last month to cancel its deal in Belarus, the company said, “This is a human rights violation, and it has triggered the automatic termination of our end user license agreement,” according to the company’s statement. San Francisco-based Francisco Partners didn’t return messages seeking comment, nor did Brian Decker or Andrew Kowal, deal partners at the firm who list Sandvine among their investments, according to the firm’s website...