QUESTION: There are reports of U.S., German, and Canadian companies hosting Syrian Government websites. Does hosting a Syrian Government website constitute a sanctions violation? What action has the State Department taken to investigate these reports?
ANSWER: U.S. companies are prohibited from providing web-hosting or any other service to the Syrian government under Executive Order 13582 without a license from the Department of the Treasury. We refer questions about pending or ongoing licensure investigations to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The U.S. government takes all reports of potential sanctions violations seriously. Our policies are designed to assist ordinary citizens who are exercising their fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association, while preventing exports of goods and services that repressive regimes can use against their people.
