Another comparative case study
Could the Iranian and Chinese Internet censors cooperate and learn from each other? In neither case are the protests likely to change policies. However, students of comparative politics could compare the censorship efforts and results.Iranian Activists Criticize New Restrictions on Web Sites
"Iranian bloggers and activists on Tuesday condemned a move by a government panel to block access to several Web sites related to women's issues and human rights."'It's like a big attack,' said Parvin Ardalan, who works for Change4Equality.net, a Tehran-based feminist Web site affected by the new restrictions. 'Now, most sites related to women's and human rights issues have been blocked in one day,' she said...
"Web sites maintained by opposition groups, dissidents and even some supporters of the government have been blocked in the past. Iran also bars access to thousands of Web sites that show pornography...
"The Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture's supervisory board for the media... answers to the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, which determines the country's educational, scientific, cultural and social objectives. The 36-member council sets parameters for what is allowed on the Iranian Internet, but the board decides which sites should be blocked. It is unclear who sits on the board, although its members are thought to include representatives of the judiciary, the intelligence service and other government agencies...
"In 2003, Iranian authorities started restricting access to Web sites, a technique which can be bypassed by filter breakers or other tools to avoid digital censorship. These programs are slow, and filtered Web sites lose many readers.
"According to Iranian blogging services, last year there were more than 700,000 blogs in Farsi, many of which are written from abroad..."
See also:
- Blogs Opening Iranian Society? from Wired in 2003
- Bloggers of Iran from The Nation in 2005
- Iran Cracks Down on Bloggers from Wired in 2006
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:43 AM
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