Iran blocks access to top websites
04 December 2006 07:17
Iran on Sunday shut down access to some of the world's most popular
websites. Users were unable to open popular sites including Amazon.com
and YouTube following instructions to service providers to filter them.
Similar edicts have been issued against Wikipedia, the internet
encyclopaedia, IMDB.com, an online film database, and the New York
Times site. Attempts to open the sites are met with a page reading:
"The requested page is forbidden."
The clampdown was ordered by senior judiciary officials in the latest
phase of a campaign that has seen high-speed broadband facilities
banned in an attempt to impede "corrupting" foreign films and music. It
is in line with a campaign by Iran's Islamist President, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, to purge the country of Western cultural influences.
Iran was among 13 countries branded "enemies of the internet" last
month by the human rights group, Reporters sans Fronti=E8res, which
cited state-sanctioned blocking of websites and the widespread
intimidation and jailing of bloggers.
Critics accuse Iran of using filtering technology to censor more sites
than any country apart from China. Until now, targets have been mainly
linked to opposition groups or those deemed "immoral" under Iran's
Islamic legal code. Some news sites, such as the BBC's Farsi service,
are also blocked.
"We have asked the judiciary, who are in charge of filtering, to
explain the decisions on all the sites specified but so far the only
reply we have is a confirmation of the block on Wikipedia. We don't
know why," said a senior technician with Datak, a service provider.
The ban on YouTube reflects a growing official sensitivity to private
films on the internet, an issue highlighted by a recent online video
which appears to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex.
With some 7,5-million surfers, Iran is believed to have the highest
rate of web use in the Middle East after Israel. The net's popularity
has prompted an estimated 100 000 bloggers, many opposed to the Islamic
regime. Some blogs are substitutes for Iran's once-flourishing, but now
largely supressed, reformist press.
Last week Mohammed Tourang, head of the information bureau's cultural
committee, warned Iranian websites of stricter rules by announcing
steps to stamp out "immoral and illegal" content. He said site owners
would be given official reminders to eliminate forbidden material.
Special attention would be paid to content judged to be a threat to
national unity or insulting to sacred religious texts and symbols.
Students and academics say the move limits their ability to conduct
research.
The purge mirrors a rising tide of censorship in Iranian publishing
which has resulted in the banning of hundreds of books, including
Western classics. Illegal satellite dishes have also been seized. -
Guardian Unlimited =A9 Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=3D/breaking_news/breaking_news__i=
nternational_news/&articleid=3D292104
.
|
|
| User: "Woodswun" |
|
| Title: Re: Iran Blocks Access To Top Websites |
08 Dec 2006 04:27:19 PM |
|
|
On Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:44:04 -0800, Dr. Bipolar wrote:
Iran blocks access to top websites
04 December 2006 07:17
Iran on Sunday shut down access to some of the world's most popular
websites. Users were unable to open popular sites including Amazon.com
and YouTube following instructions to service providers to filter them.
I'm wondering ... do any countries keep tabs and go aknocking on doors of
folks who attempt to access forbidden sites? Not that blocking them in
the first place isn't bad enough on its own, mind.
Woods
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "The Psychedelic Pope" |
|
| Title: Re: Iran Blocks Access To Top Websites |
04 Dec 2006 07:37:29 PM |
|
|
Yea right.........I heard they locked up all the doors to the White
House also
and refused to let King Dubya enter.
Dr. Bipolar wrote:
Iran blocks access to top websites
04 December 2006 07:17
Iran on Sunday shut down access to some of the world's most popular
websites. Users were unable to open popular sites including Amazon.com
and YouTube following instructions to service providers to filter them.
Similar edicts have been issued against Wikipedia, the internet
encyclopaedia, IMDB.com, an online film database, and the New York
Times site. Attempts to open the sites are met with a page reading:
"The requested page is forbidden."
The clampdown was ordered by senior judiciary officials in the latest
phase of a campaign that has seen high-speed broadband facilities
banned in an attempt to impede "corrupting" foreign films and music. It
is in line with a campaign by Iran's Islamist President, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, to purge the country of Western cultural influences.
Iran was among 13 countries branded "enemies of the internet" last
month by the human rights group, Reporters sans Fronti=E8res, which
cited state-sanctioned blocking of websites and the widespread
intimidation and jailing of bloggers.
Critics accuse Iran of using filtering technology to censor more sites
than any country apart from China. Until now, targets have been mainly
linked to opposition groups or those deemed "immoral" under Iran's
Islamic legal code. Some news sites, such as the BBC's Farsi service,
are also blocked.
"We have asked the judiciary, who are in charge of filtering, to
explain the decisions on all the sites specified but so far the only
reply we have is a confirmation of the block on Wikipedia. We don't
know why," said a senior technician with Datak, a service provider.
The ban on YouTube reflects a growing official sensitivity to private
films on the internet, an issue highlighted by a recent online video
which appears to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex.
With some 7,5-million surfers, Iran is believed to have the highest
rate of web use in the Middle East after Israel. The net's popularity
has prompted an estimated 100 000 bloggers, many opposed to the Islamic
regime. Some blogs are substitutes for Iran's once-flourishing, but now
largely supressed, reformist press.
Last week Mohammed Tourang, head of the information bureau's cultural
committee, warned Iranian websites of stricter rules by announcing
steps to stamp out "immoral and illegal" content. He said site owners
would be given official reminders to eliminate forbidden material.
Special attention would be paid to content judged to be a threat to
national unity or insulting to sacred religious texts and symbols.
Students and academics say the move limits their ability to conduct
research.
The purge mirrors a rising tide of censorship in Iranian publishing
which has resulted in the banning of hundreds of books, including
Western classics. Illegal satellite dishes have also been seized. -
Guardian Unlimited =A9 Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=3D/breaking_news/breaking_news_=
_international_news/&articleid=3D292104
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
