Iran reblocks Twitter and Facebook; local entrepreneur says it wasn't a glitch
Last night, several social media users reported that Twitter and
Facebook were unblocked in Iran, making it possible to post
directly to the social networks without using a virtual private
network (VPN) for the first time since they were banned during the
protests following the country's 2009 elections.
Thomas Erdbrink of the New York Times
chronicled the deluge of tweets that followed, posting his own
VPN-free
tweet: “Hello world, we are tweeting without restrictions
from Iran.”
Today, the blocks have been reinstated,
with semi-official Mehr news
agency reporting that the unblocking was a technical
failure that was quickly fixed. Abdolsamad Khorramabadi, the head
of the committee that oversees internet censorship, commented that
a team has been investigating the issue since midnight, looking
into the actions of Iran’s ISPs. Under Article 21, negligence in
censorship remains a criminal act, he noted.
However, many, including those we spoke to on the ground, speculate
that it was not an accident.
“Personally, I do not consider it a glitch,” said our source.
“There has been lots of talk [about] unblocking Facebook and
Twitter, and it is one of the major demands of youth [on] the new
president.”
“Considering that filtering is back again in office hours [sic],
that is a sign that a lobby has been in progress to get approval
from some officials in order to close it back again. Technical
glitches are usually fixed by 24/7 techies as soon as possible,”
the source pointed out.
General consensus is that the Rouhani regime is
reconsidering the country's ban on social media, following
multiple promises to reduce internet censorship.
Since he took office, several
members of his cabinet have set up Facebook pages, the most
prolific and controversial of which has been foreign minister Javad
Zarif, who, just two weeks ago, posted an
earnest argument in English on his Facebook page. The page was
then
hacked this past Saturday and then restored. He’s also the
first Iranian official to have a verified account on Twitter. Thus
far, he's only posted in English, but sources have
verified that it is, in fact, Zarif posting.
Whether it was a glitch or not, Rouhani's message remains
consistent. Early this morning, before the blocks were reinstated,
he tweeted, ""Gone are the days when a wall could be built around
the country. Today there are no more walls.” - @HassanRouhani, July
2013 #hope #iran