In a strange twist of fate, the lifting of a trade embargo to one country seems to have resulted in access to a service being cut off for residents of that country.

Origin, EA’s digital distribution platform has been available to residents of Myanmar (the small South-East Asian country also called Burma) since its launch, despite a trade sanction against the country from the US – the place where Origin is pretty much based. In the middle of September President Obama announced that the sanctions were going to be lifted from October 7th. Yet more than three weeks on from that date and Origin seems to be inaccessible to the residents of Myanmar, having been blocked since mid-September.

Community Manager on EA’s AnswersHQ support forum, EA_Tom explained that EA was now just complying with the trade sanctions the US has placed on certain countries, and that was why the service was being denied in these countries. Indeed there is a clause in Origin’s terms of service which reads “You agree to abide by U.S. and other applicable export control laws and agree not to transfer the Application to a foreign national, or national destination, which is prohibited by such laws, without first obtaining, and then complying with, any requisite government authorization.”

“In compliance with US embargoes and sanctions laws, Origin is not available in Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine (Crimea region),” EA_Tom wrote to one user.

Why EA have begun to follow the sanctions now after years of allowing access is unknown, and so far it’s unclear when EA are going to allow Myanmar residents access again now that the sanctions imposed on the country in 2003 after humans rights charter violations have been lifted.