Editing Telecommunications in Belarus (section)

== Censorship and media freedom ==
{{main article |Censorship in Belarus |Human rights in Belarus}}
Many western human rights groups state that [[civil right]]s and free expression are severely limited in Belarus, though there are some individuals and groups that refuse to be controlled and some journalists have disappeared.<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,CPJ,,BLR,47c5669223,0.html "Attacks on the Press in 2003 – Belarus"], Committee to Protect Journalists, February 2004, available at UNHCR.org</ref>

Because the Belarus government limits freedom of expression, several opposition media outlets are broadcast from nearby countries to help provide Belarusians an alternative points of view. This includes the Polish state-owned [[Belsat]] TV station and [[European Radio for Belarus]] (Eŭrapéjskaje Rádyjo dla Biełarúsi)<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704680604576110221620742008?mod=googlenews_wsj "Dissent hits Belarus via Warsaw"], Gordon Fairclough, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 29 January 2011</ref>

[[Reporters Without Borders]] ranked [[Belarus]] 157th out of 178 countries in its 2014 [[Press Freedom Index]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014 |title=Reporters Without Borders |access-date=6 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214120404/http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php |archive-date=14 February 2014}}</ref> By comparison, the same index ranked neighbor Ukraine, 126th and Russia, 148th.

In the 2011 [[Freedom House]] ''Freedom of the Press report'', Belarus scored 92 on a scale from 10 (most free) to 99 (least free), because the government allegedly systematically curtails press freedom. This score placed Belarus 9th from the bottom of the 196 countries included in the report and earned the country a "Not Free" status.<ref name="fh">[http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2010 "Country report: Belarus"], ''Freedom of the Press 2011'', Freedom House, 21 April 2011</ref>