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(Image source: The Verge)
BY DAN KENNEDY
The Iranian government is taking a new stand to ensure its citizens DON’T have access
to parts of the Internet.
The government announced it is blocking virtual private networks
or VPNs — used to access the internet, calling them “illegal.” However, “Iran’s Supreme
Council of Cyberspace announced in January that it would soon begin selling ‘official’
and ‘legal’ VPN services to companies and corporations that needed them for security.”
PCMag
reports government-distributed VPNs would allow the government to directly monitor what
sites users try to access. The new restrictions — which take effect immediately — allow
the government to prosecute violators in national courts.
Close eyes on internet access
are nothing new in the middle eastern country — Iranians have been cut off from the Internet
several times in the past few years. Just last month, they lost access to Gmail, Hotmail
and Yahoo email.
They also don’t have access to major social-networking sites like
Facebook and Twitter — dubbed by the government as “inappropriate.” In September, the
government blocked popular sites like Google search and YouTube. Iranians were using VPNs
to get around those previous restrictions — restrictions the government claims are
forms of cyber-security from “Western” attacks.
But SlashGear reports a different
theory for this latest round of restrictions. The country’s next presidential election
is set for June. The last time that happened in 2009, protestors used those social-networking
sites to organize demonstrations. SlashGear predicts the new ban on VPNs is meant to curtail
new demonstrations.
The country reportedly has plans to use a government-run Internet
service not associated with the World Wide Web. That would allow officials to monitor
users and continue to restrict certain content.