| Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top websites |
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| Written by Guardian | |
| Monday, 04 December 2006 | |
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Iran yesterday 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. 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 yesterday 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.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1963166,00.html |
bloggers than any other country and blocks public access to 40% of political opposition’s websites. 
