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Iran Blocks Gmail, Preps National E-mail Service to Curb Dissent

by Terrence O'Brien on February 11, 2010 at 12:38 PM

Iran Blocks Gmail, Preps National E-Mail Service
Iran has blocked Gmail before. In fact, think of any communicative or social networking site, and chances are that Iran has blocked it at some point. But yesterday, the government-run telecommunications company announced that Google's e-mail service would be blocked permanently and replaced with a state-run option.

The national e-mail service will, of course, be tightly controlled and monitored by the powers that be, making it useless as a tool for opposition party members and protesters. That, of course, is the point. Today marks the 31st anniversary of the the creation of the Islamic Republic, and, leading up to the celebrations, the government has cracked down heavily on dissidents and non-state-sanctioned information outlets.

Satellite dishes and cell phones have been confiscated, countless Web sites blocked, and -- depending on the source of information you trust -- as many as 1,000 people jailed. But if there is one thing the Iranian people have proven again and again, it's that they're very resourceful when it comes to circumventing government restrictions. [From: Wall Street Journal, via: Huffington Post]

Tags: censorship, Gmail, iran, iran protests, IranProtests, politics, top

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