Iran an enemy of YouTube

By Stan Beer
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 13:57

Home IT

Iran has blocked access to video sharing site YouTube and has put itself in the company of such countries as China, North Korea, Syria and Saudi Arabia, among others, labelled by press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders as enemies of the Internet.

Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement on its website that Iran is a country where censorship is now the rule rather than the exception. An increasing number of overseas and local opposition websites are being blocked and the Islamic fundamentalist regime has also blocked high speed Internet access.

"The government is trying to create a digital border to stop culture and news coming from abroad - a vision of the Net which is worrying for the country’s future," Reporters Without Borders said.

“But, more generally it is a threat to the worldwide web which, instead of aiding understanding between peoples could be changed into a medium of intolerance. The Iranian government policy is not an isolated case. It is getting closer and closer to that of the authorities in China, with particular stress being laid on censorship of cultural output.”

Not only has Iran blocked YouTube, but the New York Times and online information repository Wikipedia have also been blocked and the head of the Agency for the Development of Information Technology in Iran, Vafa Ghafaryan, has said that the government planned to enhance surveillance of “harmful” text messages.

Iran's Internet censorship regime is now being compared to that of China. However, the atmosphere of repression appears to be more menacing as, unlike China which has moved to engage the West economically, Iran under the present regime has sought to isolate itself from what it sees as decadent Western influences.