Deutsche Welle, 15 March 2013
Iranian
authorities have blocked the use of most virtual private networks (VPNs), a
tool that is often used to get around a widespread Iranian internet filter.
Tehran
often blocks foreign websites, including social networks, on the grounds that
they are "immoral" or "counterrevolutionary."
It uses a
filter to prevent people from accessing many sites on the official grounds that
they are offensive or criminal.
The regime
has been trying to build up a "Halal Internet" for some time now in
order to stop activists and bloggers from using illegal means to access the
Internet and disseminate information.
 |
| Iran has been listed as an "enemy of the Internet" by Reporters Without Borders |
VPN
software provides encrypted links directly to private networks based abroad and
can allow a computer to behave as if it is based in another country.
Highly-sensitive
information linked to trade and industry is often transmitted by VPNs.
But many
bloggers and activists use VPNs to criticize the regime as they allow the user
to remain anonymous.
Before, it
was quite easy to get hold of the software in Iran, but now, users will have to
register their information with Internet providers if they want to use VPNs.
Closed doors
"Imagine
a castle whose doors were open for everybody until now. In future, only the
'legal' doors, those which are monitored by the state, will be open,"
explained Mahmoud Tadjallimehr, an Iranian technology expert who lives in
Germany, to DW.
The regime
in Tehran has confirmed this information. "Within the last few days,
illegal VPN ports in the country have been blocked," said Ramezanali
Sobhani-Fard, the head of the parliament's information and communications
technology committee, the country's Mehr news agency reported. "Only legal
and registered VPNs can be used from now on."
Deutsche
Welle's Farsi department has registered fewer clicks since the announcement,
but there has been an increase in interest in Psiphon, an anti-filter
technology DW provides to users on its website.
 |
| Young opponents of the regime often resort to online protest actions |
The Persian
department at the BBC has witnessed a similar development.
'Only a
matter of time'
Mahmoud
Tadjallimehr says it is "only a matter of time" until hackers,
bloggers and activists find a new way to get around the censorship.
Ehsan
Norouzi, a technical expert who also works at DW, agrees that the
"possibilities of the Internet are endless" and thinks users will
find an alternative sooner or later. But he is pessimistic about the coming
weeks and months.
"Users
won't have a lot of legroom ahead of the impending presidential elections [June
2013]," he said.
After the
contested elections of 2009, young people organized their protests via the
Internet and social networks. The regime is trying to prevent a repetition of
this at all costs.
 |
| The regime wants to prevent a repeat of the protests in 2009 |
Activists
hope that a project that the US State Department is currently working on to
help dissidents get around censorship - the "Internet in a suitcase"
- will also help their cause.
In a report
published this week, Reporters Without Borders includes Iran in its list of
"enemies of the Internet," saying it is prone to abuses of
surveillance. The media rights organization cites a growing body of evidence
that has linked these countries to crackdowns on journalists and activists with
the aid of sophisticated spy gear.
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