Blocked by Atlassian as part of SANCTIONS in Ukraine

[Artem Montik]

My another account is blocked and I redirected to this page on login https://id.atlassian.com/login/inactive?blockedByReason=Blocked+by+Atlassian+as+part+of+SANCTIONS-180&blockedByType=orgAdmin

I am from Ukraine, which sanctions?
Who and how can I contact to solve this problem?

Regards, Artu

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Or rather, not, as you've been blocked.  I'm sorry about that.

Atlassian do not want to block Ukrainian users, but they do want to sanction (block) people who may support the invasion.  The tech in use to do this is broadly based on two rules:

• If your account belongs to an organisation known to support the invasion, it will be blocked.
• If you are using a connection that appears to be in occupied areas (including Crimea), or within the Russian Federation or Belarus, then there's a very good chance that you will be blocked.
• Humanitarian organisations tend to escape those rules, but only after being looked at by a human.

In some cases, these rules are not going to work too well.   They are very wide-ranging, and not frequently updated with the ebb and flow of the shape of the occupied areas.

A big problem is that the internet was designed to route around blocks, but there's also the problem that detecting who or where people are is becoming increasingly difficult, so there are more false positives for "should block" on genuine accounts.

Best thing to do is raise a support request with Atlassian, letting them know what your current organisation and ideally external IP address is, over at https://support.atlassian.com/contact#

If they redirect you back here to the community because you are a small user, let us know, and we'll see if we can escalate it

[Artem Montik]

Thank you, Nic Brough for the answer. Any of these rules are not appropriate for me. I will try to raise a support request.

[Artem Montik]

Returning from the support, I want to report here:

Atlassian can block an account of a citizen of Ukraine without explanation, referring to governmental sanctions issued by the United States.

Some facts about me and my Trello profile:
- I am a citizen of Ukraine, my country is fighting against Russian aggression, and I support my country for 100%
- I live in central Ukraine (not occupied), so not there should not be connection that appears to be in occupied areas
- The organization that I created in Trello is related to web development and is inactive for other members since 2020.
- I have had a Trello profile for 10 years for working and personal tasks.

I suggested providing a passport, a driver’s license, and a bank statement with my confirmed address, but Atlassian support chooses to disregard it.

The only valuable thing I have in my Trello account is info about my utility payments and other expenses.

What a disappointing level!

"Thank you", Atlassian!

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I'm afraid that just tells us that you were not able to convince Atlassian that you are not on the side of Russia.  My guess is that it might be what your organisation is, rather than your location or citizenship.

Anyone can block accounts for their services if they want, there is no obligation for someone to provide a service to anyone.

[Artem Montik]

So if my organization ever had a member with Russian IP this is a reason to ban? Ok, let them ban the organization. Why do they ban my private board?
They can check boards after all.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

It is not "ever had a Russian IP", they're only looking at the current state of the account and organisations.

But I don't know what they are doing to establish which side people might be on.  I don't know what evidence they have (or don't have) in front of them to make the decision.

Please don't take this as me doubting you, I'm just trying to explain what is likely to be happening.  I do not think Atlassian's "is this Russia" code is working brilliantly, I know it is throwing both false positives and negatives - I know two Ukrainan developers who have been blocked, and one Russian who is not (despite who she works for, which should be an automatic block)

[Artem Montik]

My account has been unblocked. Thanks.