By the end of August, if Tehran’s plans progress as announced, Iranians going online will find themselves restricted to communicating only with each other—under the watchful eye of Iran’s cyber censors.
Plans for an all-Iranian intranet to replace access to the Web were announced in early July by Iran’s Communication and Information Minister (an Orwellian title if ever there was one), Reza Taqipour Anvari. From Tehran’s point of view, a “National Internet”—or “Clean Internet,” as it is also described—would take already considerable efforts at control to a new level.
There are also plans for a national Iranian search engine, “Ya Haq” (Oh Just One), which is scheduled to debut in early 2012. The purported aim is to “better manage national emails and information gathering within the country and improve security,” the minister said. From a government point of view, this is eminently desirable.
The position of the Iranian government vis-à-vis the Internet has evolved dramatically over the past decade. Initially, according to Freedom House’s “Freedom on the Net 2011,” Tehran regarded the Internet as a catalyst for economic and scientific development. It was first introduced into the count... >>>
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