Iran Blocks Instagram

The Iranian Judiciary today ordered blocking of photo-sharing app Instagram, Mehr News Agency reported. Social websites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have already been blocked by censors.

Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Khamenei and President Rouhani, however, keep very active Facebook and Twitter accounts and Rouhani also has an Instagram account. The restriction on social media apparently applies only to ordinary citizens of the country.

Officials at Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, could not be immediately reached for comment (AP, 23 May)

Is Rouhani's pilot an Instagramer?

Iran Shuts Down Ebtekar, A Reformist Newspaper

Iran banned reformist newspaper Ebtekar on Saturday for spreading “lies.” The charge of spreading lies generally means the Iranian authorities were not all that happy about the paper’s reporting and its reformist political leaning.

“I received a note from media court which said a ban has been imposed on the daily for spreading lies,” Mohammad Ali Vakili, managing director of Ebtekar said in Tehran (ISNA, 27 April.)

Ebtekar’s closing makes it third reformist newspaper to be shut down by authorities in recent months. In February, the reformist daily "Aseman" was banned. "Bahar," another reformist newspaper, was closed down in October.

Photo credit: Ebtekar’s front page. (RFE/RL)

Bahar Editor Arrested

Saeed Pourazizi, editor-in-chief of Bahar daily, was arrested today in Tehran and sent to the notorious Evin prison, ISNA reported. The newspaper was shut down on Monday by government censors.

In its 23 October edition, the paper had published an op-ed piece entitled, “Imam, a Political Leader or a Religious Model?”

Image credit: Bahar’s front page (Radio Farda)

Twitter and Facebook Blocked Again In Iran - After One-Day Respite

Iran blocked access to Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday, a day after it unblocked the sites. Thousands of Iranians on Monday got on the sites directly without having to evade a government’s firewall.

Thomas Erdbrink, the New York Times correspondent in Tehran, tweeted yesterday with updates on the sites being unblocked, and today on them being blocking again: (@ThomasErdbrink)

“Okay people the rumors are true, this is my first tweet ever using Iran's state cell phone internet service without VPN!!!” (3pm EST, Monday)

“Hello world, we are tweeting without restrictions from Iran.” (Monday)

“Is Iran's Berlin Wall of internet censorship crumbling down? I am tweeting from Tehran from my cell without restrictions.” (Monday)

“Both twitter and FB have been filtered since 2009 protests. For years Iranians had to use special software for access.” (Monday)

“That feeling when the Iranian authorities finally decide you are wise enough to use Twitter and FB...” (Monday)

“Twitter and Facebook are once again blocked in Iran, with one (hardline) official saying yesterday's unexpected openness was a ‘glitch.’” (Tuesday, 5:58am)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif all maintain very active Twitter and Facebook accounts to connect to the world. But the citizens are prohibited to tweet or access FB.

To reach the sites, Iranians began using virtual private network, or VPN, software to connect through computers located outside the country, though the telecommunications ministry eventually deployed technology to block much of that kind of traffic as well.

Several hardline politicians have made public comments in recent days calling Facebook “a Zionist tool.”

Internet Enters ‘Coma’ in Iran – Ahead of Presidential Election

“The Internet is in a coma,” wrote Tehran’s Qanoon daily earlier this month. The Middle East Online in a piece published today explains the symptoms. The authorities, mindful of massive street demonstrations post-2009 election, have tightened control of the Internet, deliberately slowing it down for average users.   

“It only happens in Iran: the election comes, the Internet goes,” Qanoon quoted a recent tweet in Farsi.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and numerous other sites, including thousands of blogs, have been censored in Iran in the aftermath of the 2009 protests. Now the Internet has become so slow that the average person cannot download almost anything. But the drop in bandwidth and widespread disruption of the Internet is now severely affecting businesses, banks and even government organizations. 

A network administrator at a major Internet service provider in Tehran is quoted on the report that his company had been unable to address complaints about slower speeds, particularly accessing pages using the HTTPS secure communications protocol.

“Browsing (the net) is difficult due to the low speed. Even checking emails is a pain,” he said.

The problem is not limited to slower speeds, but also affects what people can actually access online. The censors have taken great care to ensure that people do not see or read things deemed to be inappropriate from their viewpoints. The last remaining software that enabled users to bypass filters imposed on net traffic, like the virtual private networks (VPN), “have become practically inaccessible,” said an Iranian IT website. (The Middle East Online, 19 May)

VPN uses certain protocols to connect to servers outside Iran. In that way, the computer appears to be based in another country and bypasses the filters. Use of VPN, or its sale, is illegal in Iran.

Ramezanali Sobhani-Fard, a member of Majlis and chairman of its communications committee, said VPN was blocked in early March, which has contributed to slowing the Internet.

Last year, the authorities established the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, tasked with guarding Iranians from “dangers” on the Internet. The council is now the lead agency for implementation of official Internet policies and behind the recent disruptions in the use of the Internet in the country.

Photo credit: An Internet café in Tehran (The Middle East Online)

IRNA Reports Blocking and Filtering of Websites and Blogs

Less Than a Month Before Election

Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported today that the websites and blogs backing Ahmadinejad’s government and Mashaie’s candidacy have been blocked or filtered. The Guardian Council will announce its decision whether to allow Mashaie to run for president by next Tuesday and blocking those sites could be related to its possible rejection. IRNA did not say which agencies are behind the censorship, but the ministry of intelligence and IRGC intelligence organization are capable of blocking and filtering websites and blogs. 

Some pro-reform sites such as Aftab are also not accessible, and believed to have been blocked. Iran will hold its presidential election in less than a month.   

To read IRNA’s report (in Farsi), please click here.

BBC Audiences Nearly Double in Iran

A new survey commissioned by BBC shows that the BBC Farsi audience has reached a record high and almost doubled in Iran to 11.4 million - up by 90 per cent from a year ago. Of those who have a satellite dish at home in Iran, 45 per cent tune in to BBC. The program has also a weekly reach of 19 per cent among the overall population of Iran. (BBC, 2 April) 



“The huge audience rise for BBC Persian is a tribute to the professionalism and bravery of our staff and their families who have defied intimidation from the Iranian authorities. It is clear that crude attempts to discredit our journalism are failing and ordinary Iranians are increasingly turning to the BBC for independent news they can trust,” said BBC World Service Director Peter Horrocks.

BBC also reported that despite heavy internet censorship, its Persian online usage in Iran has risen to 55,000 unique visitors per week, a 46 percent increase from last year.