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Blog: Internet Internet Revolution Underway in Iran
Michael Barkoviak - October 2, 2009 9:01 AM
Print 8 comment(s) - last by gevorg.. on Oct 6 at 7:03 PM

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  (Source: UN)
The "connected" generation in Iran continues to push the envelope

Political analysts continue to monitor internet usage in Iran, noticing a younger, more tech-savvy generation put added pressure on the Iranian government to open up the flow of information.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government have worked diligently to try and obstruct the flow of communication through the country -- but continues to leave gaping loopholes that can be exploited by tech-friendly computer users.

Using the power of the internet, teenagers in Iran are sending messages, videos and other published information to one another throughout the country.  Specifically, they also are sharing information with people in the Middle East and the rest of the world at an alarming rate.  

The Iranian government will continue to try and censor the media and internet, but will likely suffer a defeat, as more viral videos are recorded and shared.  Furthermore, people outside of Iran are using the internet to show support for Iranians, a notion that wasn't shared just a few years ago. 

I'm curious to see how Iranian citizens continue to stay one step ahead of the government, which is looking to continually shut them down.  Unlike China, it doesn't seem like the Iranian government looks to actively jail bloggers on such a large scale, but that doesn't mean they are able to publish content without any repercussions.

In the future, look for younger internet users inside Iran to continue showing some of the real world situations that average citizens must deal with.


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By Spacecomber on 10/2/2009 10:02:04 AM , Rating: 4
From what I've read, Iran is moving in a much more repressive and tightly controlled direction. I don't know how well the more moderate opposition will be able to hold up to the pressure from those consolidating their hold on power in this country. I wouldn't be surprised to see the internet come under the kind of scrutiny that we've come to expect from a country like China, for example. Things just haven't reached that level of subtlety, yet.

See, for example, "Letter From Tehran: Iran's New Hard-Liners. Who Is in Control of the Islamic Republic?" recently posted at Foreign Affairs, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-fro...




By Amiga500 on 10/2/2009 12:47:01 PM , Rating: 2
Good link there.

Now, what does the UNSC do about Iran?

Go hardline in talks and push the Iranians towards their hardliners? Who will undoubtedly go on to develop nukes clandestinely...

Compromise with the current Iranian government hoping they can get things under control? If they don't maintain control in the future, then the compromises made now will result in more facilities geared to making nukes being available to the later hardliners...

You pays your money, you takes your choices eh? I think the only right answer to this will be found in the history books 50 years from now.


By jadeskye on 10/2/2009 6:56:13 PM , Rating: 2
Providing there are history books or even a '50 years from now' for us. Many believe we're teetering on the edge of WW3.

A bleak view even by my dark standards.


By Spacecomber on 10/3/2009 10:31:02 AM , Rating: 2
I don't really have a good suggestion on how to deal with Iran at this point. I don't think that you can expect this current regime to be interested in compromise; so, while talking to them is helpful for coalition building with countries beyond Iran, I wouldn't count on it to yield much progress. I think that you just keep up a steady diplomatic pressure on them and contain them as best you can by twisting arms of other nations not to provide them with any more technology and weapons than they already have.

If we're lucky, maybe more moderate leaders will eventually come to power.

Otherwise, maybe Israel will pre-emptively set their technology back a few centuries, since they seem to be pretty hard line and paranoid at this point, too.


By MrPoletski on 10/5/2009 10:10:38 PM , Rating: 2
Let them build their civilian nuclear facilities, but constantly monitor them, stop telling them they are breaking the non-proliferation treaty when they are not and others doing the shouting are, start talking to them like they are not the bogey man and are a serious economic power in the world of oil in the ME, instead of mistranslating and jumping to conclusions about his holocaust denial and actually bother to ask him for clarification on what he meant to see if he is the 'Jew hater' he is made out to be.

Iran is supposed to be such a big threat.. to whom? they have a smaller military budget than greece and there is no evidence at all to suggest they are building a nuclear weapon. This latest 'secret plat revealed' is rubbish too, they declared its existance exactly in accordance with the NNPT rules. and you have Israel there with 200+ undeclared nuclear warheads, in total violation of their unsigned copy of the NNPT (and have a huge military and a demonstrated will to use it offensively) but we are expecting Iran to be sanctioned because they started building something before telling anyone about it (but 180 days before any nuclear material goes to site, as is the rules of the NNPT).

The difference in scale of nuclear 'misbehaviour' is immense. Thats like drunk cop with BAC .4 pulling you over coz he heard you accidently swallowed a bit of your alcohol based mouthwash this morning.


By JKflipflop98 on 10/6/2009 5:51:11 PM , Rating: 2
While this gentleman's view may not be popular in our neck of the woods, he does speak the truth.


Alarming to who?
By Schrag4 on 10/5/2009 1:01:43 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Specifically, they also are sharing information with people in the Middle East and the rest of the world at an alarming rate.


I think this should have said something along these lines:

quote:
Specifically, they also are sharing information with people in the Middle East and the rest of the world at what the Iranian government considers an alarming rate.


...otherwise, you, as the author, appear to be alarmed by the fact that Iran doesn't have as tight a grip on its citizens as you would like.




By gevorg on 10/6/2009 7:03:57 PM , Rating: 2
For internet censorship.




"We are going to continue to work with them to make sure they understand the reality of the Internet.  A lot of these people don't have Ph.Ds, and they don't have a degree in computer science." -- RIM co-CEO Michael Lazaridis











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