Iran shuts down Internet Cafes for un-Islamic Behavior
The online censorship campaign intensifies in Iran as Tehran police raided more than 430 Internet cafes to combat the growing immorality and inappropriate online contents.
About 25 net cafes are already closed down and 170 more are facing possible shutdown for "using immoral computer games and storing obscene photos".


While authorities consider these contents un-Islamic, store owners and Iranian independent journalists believe this whole campaign is not all about pornographic contents and immoral Websites. Instead, this is a more extensive campaign to censor political sites, blogs, and alternative news as a way to restrict social and intellectual freedom.


Just like China, Iranian authorities might have this notion that they can censor the Internet to preserve their culture and prevent any possible uprising. Perhaps they are not aware that there are many ways to sidestep these filters using simple and free technologies online.
By Leo Blanco · Posted on December 19, 2007


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