December 4, 2006 at 17:52Iran fights Western culture on the Internet
In Iran, many of the world's most popular sites, including Amazon.com and YouTube, became unavailable on Sunday. Providers working in this country have been instructed by the government to block these resources, reports The Guardian .
The ban also included the Wikipedia network encyclopedia , the cinematic resource IMDB.com , and the website of The New York Times . When you try to open one of these resources, a message appears on the screen stating that "The requested page is denied."
The blocking of well-known sites was a continuation of a campaign launched in the country to combat the "depraved" influence of Western culture, in particular films and music. In October, the leadership of Iran obligedInternet service providers limit the speed of Internet access to private clients and Internet cafes. According to the statement of the representative of the Ministry of Communications, these restrictions will be valid until the release of new state rules for using high-speed access to the Network.
The Iranian authorities have already made attempts to restrict their citizens in access to information from Western sources. In addition to opposition websites, large information resources fell into the category of “dangerous”. One of the most high-profile scandals is related to the closed access to the news site BBCPersian.com in Farsi. This is the most popular BBC project in a foreign language, monthly visited by about 30 million users, half of them are Iranians. The BBC leadership expressed its concern about the actions of the Iranian authorities. “The blocking of the site deprived numerous Iranian Internet users of access to a reliable source of independent and impartial information,” the statement said. A request from the corporation was sent to the Iranian government with a request to restore access.
Tehran has repeatedly been criticized by human rights defenders for trying to restrict free speech on the Web. Last month, the Reporters Without Borders human rights group ranked Iran as a group of 13 countries , identified in the report as “enemies of the Internet.” The organization’s report noted that the country's authorities blocked Internet sites, and some bloggers were convicted.
In addition, the Iranian government conducts tough pro-government propaganda on the Internet, for which it hired hundreds of bloggers.
The ban also included the Wikipedia network encyclopedia , the cinematic resource IMDB.com , and the website of The New York Times . When you try to open one of these resources, a message appears on the screen stating that "The requested page is denied."
The blocking of well-known sites was a continuation of a campaign launched in the country to combat the "depraved" influence of Western culture, in particular films and music. In October, the leadership of Iran obligedInternet service providers limit the speed of Internet access to private clients and Internet cafes. According to the statement of the representative of the Ministry of Communications, these restrictions will be valid until the release of new state rules for using high-speed access to the Network.
The Iranian authorities have already made attempts to restrict their citizens in access to information from Western sources. In addition to opposition websites, large information resources fell into the category of “dangerous”. One of the most high-profile scandals is related to the closed access to the news site BBCPersian.com in Farsi. This is the most popular BBC project in a foreign language, monthly visited by about 30 million users, half of them are Iranians. The BBC leadership expressed its concern about the actions of the Iranian authorities. “The blocking of the site deprived numerous Iranian Internet users of access to a reliable source of independent and impartial information,” the statement said. A request from the corporation was sent to the Iranian government with a request to restore access.
Tehran has repeatedly been criticized by human rights defenders for trying to restrict free speech on the Web. Last month, the Reporters Without Borders human rights group ranked Iran as a group of 13 countries , identified in the report as “enemies of the Internet.” The organization’s report noted that the country's authorities blocked Internet sites, and some bloggers were convicted.
In addition, the Iranian government conducts tough pro-government propaganda on the Internet, for which it hired hundreds of bloggers.