Libtech, The issue did not come up on the list (fatigue I suppose), but I am sure people are well aware that many previously filtered sites were available in Iran for much of last Monday. Today, Small Media publishes the latest in its Iran Infrastructure and Policy series, which lays out technical assertions on what happened.
There are also Hangout sessions associated with the series, please let me know if you would like to attend. Cordially, Collin *Iranian Internet Infrastructure and Policy Report* July - August 2013 http://smallmedia.org.uk/sites/default/files/u8/iiipjuly.pdf<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsmallmedia.org.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fu8%2Fiiipjuly.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHJzYVZXbuFNnXTIoMgmTsvbPofYA> *On the early evening of September 16, Internet users in Iran began to report that they were able to access Facebook and Twitter without having to resort to anti-filtering tools. Although the censorship regime (colloquially known as the Filternet), had been known to fail for brief periods in the past, this time the opening paralleled the development of a political and social environment in which the relaxation of Internet restrictions has begun to feel inevitable. Perceptions of increasing state leniency have been fuelled by such positive developments as the commuting of web developer Saeed Malekpour’s death sentence to life imprisonment.* * * *There have been a number of other signs pointing towards liberalisation. In the previous edition of this series, we noted that the blogging site Tumblr had been unblocked, though we suspected this was unintentional, as several of the domains hosting media content for the platform remained filtered. In the following weeks, however, these addresses were also unblocked, and a semi-official account was created for the Supreme Leader ( khamenei-ir.tumblr.com); however, the site was blocked again soon after. The rapid adoption of social networking by the vast majority of ministers in the Rouhani administration (including unprecedented activity by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter and Facebook) led foreign ambassadors and journalists to excitedly send out their first tweets describing a new moderate Iranian filternet. Only the most skeptical commentators repressed their incredulity to see what the morning would bring.* * * *The skeptics were right to hold their tongues; morning brought the disappointment of busi- ness-as-usual, and a return to the use of unreliable anti-filtering tools. The sudden liberalization was apparently less due to the enlightenment of the authorities, and more a glimpse into exactly how fragile the apparatus actually is. Although a return to the status quo means continued isolation for Iranian internet users, this breakdown of the normal order at least brought a new understanding of the mysterious filtering regime. In order to address this topical issue, we begin with an attempt to explain what happened using technical evidence, directly disputing the claims made by state media. Despite this setback, we find hope in early government responses to the incident stating that the continued filtering of social networks would be considered by the Supreme Council on Cyberspace.* * * *In this report we also address the emergence of a real shift in the policies and tone of the Iranian government, including the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, which has laid the groundwork for these heightened expectations. Finally, we add a new feature, tracking the availability and performance of circumvention tools across different Internet Service Providers, in order to lessen confusion about what tools work and how well.* -- *Collin David Anderson* averysmallbird.com | @cda | Washington, D.C.
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