[x-pubpol] Iran clamps down on internet use

[Joly MacFie]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/05/iran-clamps-down-internet-use

Iran <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iran> is clamping down heavily on web
users before parliamentary elections in March with draconian rules on
cybercafes and preparations to launch a national
internet<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/internet>
.

Tests for a countrywide network aimed at substituting services run through
the world wide web have been carried out by Iran's ministry of information
and communication technology, according to a newspaper report. The move has
prompted fears among its online community that Iran intends to withdraw
from the global internet.

The police this week imposed tighter regulations on internet cafes. Cafe
owners have been given a two-week ultimatum to adopt rules requiring them
to check the identity cards of their customers before providing services.

"Internet cafes are required to write down the forename, surname, name of
the father, national identification number, postcode and telephone number
of each customer," said an Iranian police statement, according to the news
website Tabnak.

"Besides the personal information, they must maintain other information of
the customer such as the date and the time of using the internet and the IP
address, and the addresses of the websites visited. They should keep these
informations for each individuals for at least six months."

In recent weeks, users in Iran have complained of a significant reduction
in internet speed, reported the reformist newspaper, Roozegar, which has
recently resumed publication after months of closure. The newspaper said it
appeared to be the result of testing the national internet.

"According to some of the people in charge of the communication industry,
attempts to launch a national internet network are the cause of disruption
in internet and its speed reduction in recent weeks," Roozegar reported.

Some government websites, however, cited other reasons for the drop in
speed.

"If the national internet comes into effect, the internet in the country
will act like an internal network and therefore visiting the websites needs
permission from the people in charge. Users outside Iran also need
permission to visit websites running from inside the country," Roozegar's
report said.

Speaking to the Guardian on condition of anonymity, an Iranian IT expert
with close knowledge of the national internet project, which he described
as a corporate-style intranet, said: "Despite what others think, intranet
is not primarily aimed at curbing the global internet but Iran is creating
it to secure its own military, banking and sensitive data from the outside
world.

"Iran has fears of an outside cyber-attack like that of the Stuxnet, and is
trying to protect its sensitive data from being accessible on the world
wide web."
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