"Freedom of speaach" di dar al Islam...
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Iran’s internet in nationwide ‘coma’ as presidential polls loom
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Internet censorship in Iran has increased since 2005 given many
users saw it as their “saving grace;” an easy way to get around Iran’s
strict press laws. (Photo Courtesy: techfact.org)
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Al Arabiya with Agencies -
Access to internet in Iran is being increasingly stifled as next
month’s presidential elections loom, users and experts have said.
Although authorities deny claims of a government crackdown on the web, a slower
internet connection across the country has resulted in many users –
including businesses, banks and state organizations - speaking out.
A network supervisor at a major Internet service provider in Tehran said
his company had been unable to address complaints about slower speeds,
particularly accessing pages using the HTTPS secure communications
protocol.
“Browsing (the net) is difficult due to the low
speed. Even checking emails is a pain,” he said, speaking to AFP news
agency on condition of anonymity
“Sometimes, loading a secure Google page takes a few long seconds,” he added.
Iranian press has heatedly reported on the slowed service.
“The Internet is in a coma,” the Ghanoon daily said in a report in early this
month.
“It only happens in Iran: the election comes, the Internet goes,” it
said, quoting a tweet in Farsi, according to the AFP news agency.
Internet censorship in Iran has increased since 2005 given many users saw it as
their “saving grace;” an easy way to get around Iran’s strict press
laws.
The recent complaints come as Iran prepares to elect its
new president on June 14, with fears that the internet could spark
violent street protests that social networkers inspired last time around over
claims of fraud.
But the authorities reject claims that there is any link with that and the
current problems.
“Many parameters are involved in the Internet’s speed, but the election
drawing near is not one of them,” a deputy ICT minister, Ali Hakim
Javadi, said in early May, according to AFP.
The Iranian regime opponents have previously expressed their heavy reliance on
Web-based communication with the outside world.
In March, Iranian authorities took measures to curb internet freedoms by
blocking the use of most “virtual private networks,” a tool most of its
population used to get around an extensive government Internet filter.
A widespread government Internet filter prevents stops Iranians from
accessing sites on official grounds they are offensive or criminal.
Article 24 of the constitution gives the state a free hand in restricting
freedom of expression, declaring, “Publications and the press have
freedom of expression except when there is infringement of the basic
tenets of Islam or public rights.”
However, the “basic tenets of
Islam” and “public rights” are not defined in the constitution, meaning
the authorities can use their own interpretation and crack down on free
expression at will.
Many users evade the filter through use of
VPN software, which provides encrypted links directly to private
networks based abroad, and can allow a computer to behave as if it is
based in another country.
But authorities blocked “illegal” VPN
access, an Iranian legislator told the Mehr news agency. Iranian web
users confirmed that VPNs were blocked,” according to Reuters.
Iranian authorities had also banned Google’s email service for a week last year
but reopened access after complaints from officials.
They have
also announced plans to switch citizens onto a domestic Internet network which
would be largely isolated from the World Wide Web.
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