Iran's Access To Social Media Briefly Restored
- 17 Sep
Iran's direct access to Facebook and Twitter which was cut in 2009 after some protests were organised via the services, was briefly restored on Monday evening.
Western journalists working in Iran reported that they had suddenly gained direct access to Twitter and Facebook.
However, this morning, Reuters reported that official policy had not changed and "technical faults" had mistakenly led to the restrictions being lifted.
Thomas Erdbrink, Tehran bureau chief for the New York Times, sent several tweets via his mobile phone without the need to go via a proxy that circumvents official blocks.
The BBC reported that:
"Most Iranians who want to use social media have typically used proxies or other special software to get around the government imposed firewall."
The website of Iranian opposition politician Mehdi Karoubi has also been shut down by the Just Host service at the request of the US Treasury Department.
Sanctions restrict what services US companies can supply to Iranians and this extends to hosting websites that use the country's .ir domain suffix.
An aide for Mr Karoubi said the action by the US was "frustrating".
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