Lawmaker Says Iran Should Learn From China How To Control The Internet
An Iranian lawmaker has said that the Islamic Republic should emulate China’s “success” in creating a unique national intranet to control the cyberspace.
An Iranian lawmaker has said that the Islamic Republic should emulate China’s “success” in creating a unique national intranet to control the cyberspace.
The government has blocked thousands of websites in Iran for nearly 20 years both for ideological and political reasons. Almost all news and political websites not controlled by the government are inaccessible except by special software people need to use to get around the filtering.
Ali Yazdikhah, representing the capital Tehran, said on Tuesday that Iran should learn from China and Russia in restricting access to the Internet. His remarks came as Iran has signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with China and is expected to expand cooperation in many areas.
Facebook, You Tube and Twitter are also blocked. Instagram is the only major international platform still accessible, which Iranians use extensively to conduct ecommerce. This is one major impediment to parliament’s plan for shutting down all foreign social media networks.
Yazdikhah mentioned that plans call for free domestic intranet for users who have to pay to have access to foreign sites and platforms “without restriction”, but this is highly unlikely given the sensitivity of the clerical regime.
The alliance strikes on Houthi-held Sanaa followed an attack claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday on coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi, in which three people were killed.
The coalition also said it intercepted eight drones launched toward Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Early on Tuesday, the coalition said it had begun air strikes against strongholds and camps in Sanaa belonging to the Houthi group, Saudi state media said.
The strikes appeared to be the deadliest since 2019 on Sanaa.
The strike that killed about 14 people, according to initial estimates, was on the home of a Houthi military official.
It killed him, his wife, his 25-year-old son, other family members and some unidentified people, a medical source and residents told Reuters.
The UAE has armed and trained Yemeni forces that recently joined fighting against the Houthis in Yemen's energy-producing regions of Shabwa and Marib.
Monday's Houthi-claimed attack on two sites in the UAE set off explosions in fuel trucks, killed three people and ignited a blaze near Abu Dhabi airport.
In response, the UAE said it reserved the right to respond to "terrorist attacks and criminal escalation".
Reporting by Reuters
