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How Millions of Iranians Are Evading Internet Censors (msn.com)

schwit1 quotes the Wall Street Journal: Authorities in Tehran have ratcheted up their policing of the internet in the past week and a half, part of an attempt to stamp out the most far-reaching protests in Iran since 2009. But the crackdown is driving millions of Iranians to tech tools that can help them evade censors, according to activists and developers of the tools. Some of the tools were attracting three or four times more unique users a day than they were before the internet crackdown, potentially weakening government efforts to control access to information online. "By the time they wake up, the government will have lost control of the internet," said Mehdi Yahyanejad, executive director of NetFreedom Pioneers, a California-based technology nonprofit that largely focuses on Iran and develops educational and freedom of information tools.
Wired calls it "the biggest protest movement in Iran since the 2009 Green Movement uprising," criticing tech companies which "continue to deny services to Iranians that could be crucial to free and open communications."

25 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Kids by dohzer · · Score: 2

    How can they protect the Iranian children if they keep challenging attempts to do so?

  2. Really? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

    So, millions of Iranians are evading internet blocks and such. In a place where you can go to jail (or be executed) for doing so....

    And we're telling the Iranian government how it's being done???

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    1. Re:Really? by guruevi · · Score: 1

      I'm sure it's no secret HOW it's being done.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  3. STFU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > . "By the time they wake up, the government will have lost control of the internet," said Mehdi Yahyanejad, executive director of NetFreedom Pioneers, a California-based technology nonprofit that largely focuses on Iran and develops educational and freedom of information tools.

    Not if you keep blabbing about it, dumb ass.

    1. Re:STFU by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      What harm? Fuckers don't have the internet. Read TFA.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  4. Until the wires are cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Take over all telecommunication providers in the country and simply stop outside network access of any kind. Get caught trying to work around it, death penalty.

    1. Re:Until the wires are cut by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Take over all telecommunication providers in the country and simply stop outside network access of any kind. Get caught trying to work around it, death penalty.

      If the Iranian government cracks down hard enough, millions of people who are relatively peaceful right now just might decide they've had enough of being butchered.

      Does the name Custer right a bell, by chance?

    2. Re:Until the wires are cut by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      If the Iranian government cracks down hard enough, millions of people who are relatively peaceful right now just might decide they've had enough of being butchered.

      Does the name Custer right a bell, by chance?

      Custer? Why even move out of Iran, that is basically a one-line summary of what happened there in 1979.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Re:Iran and China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    But that sculpture would have been too costly if made here.

    Indeed. It sure is nice to have millions of disposable Asians living and working in an ecological hellhole — conveniently placed far away from the environment on the opposite side of the planet — to save you money. Especially since it means you don't have to contribute to the livelihood of any unskilled deplorables in your own country while collecting your baubles. Win win.

  6. Hey Wired - it's the law. by SWGuy · · Score: 2

    " criticing tech companies which 'continue to deny services to Iranians'" Do your research. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the countries US companies are forbidden from having business dealings with. If you're unhappy with tech companies not being able to service Iranians, you might want to talk to your representative. Here's a handy list: http://smallbusiness.chron.com...

    1. Re:Hey Wired - it's the law. by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Everyone who took a cell phone near a protest would have been found.
      Then its 2, 3, 4 hops from that account.
      Voice prints, advanced facial recognition will get many protesters.
      The western embassies, NGO's and other pro democracy groups pushing for protests need the "internet" to get the protesters protesting for the optics of the 24h news cycle.
      No internet and no coordination. But all the protesters are been tracked on the internet ...
      An interesting problem. How to build national protests but not have the Western support discovered.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    2. Re:Hey Wired - it's the law. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Right, because there's absolutely no way could any actual Iranians might want to protest their government's actions.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    3. Re:Hey Wired - it's the law. by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Look at the fall of Communism in the mid to late 1980's. Lots of peace groups, faith groups in the early 1980's gathered. That had to have help building to a mass focused moment by the mid to late 1980's that could fill city streets every day.
      Small groups of motivated protesters are too easy to contain. So outside funding, planning and support has to help guide national moments.
      Colour revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... have been well studied by most nations police and security services over the decades.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    4. Re:Hey Wired - it's the law. by NuclearCat · · Score: 1

      This "handy list" is bullshit and not precise at least in one particular entry: Lebanon.
      Because Lebanon are not under "blanket sanctions" list, but specific entities (as in many others) is sanctioned.
      The only exception is that US companies not allowed to ship any weapons to Lebanon, unless it is Lebanese Army.
      Just FYI.

  7. Uneven judgement of situations by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

    Tunisia is currently experiencing a popular uprising (again) and violent repression of protesters (again) based on similar economic motivations to Iran but you don't hear the hawks in Washington calling for regime change there. Why is that?

    --
    Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
    1. Re:Uneven judgement of situations by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

      For starters, Tunisia isn't an authoritarian theocracy hell-bent on exporting its system to its neighbours and on building nukes to facilitate that goal.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    2. Re:Uneven judgement of situations by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      For endings, the subject is Iran.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    3. Re:Uneven judgement of situations by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      How much oil does Tunisia export?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Uneven judgement of situations by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think it has more to do with Shiite and Sunnite Islam and a particular other country that just so happens to be the "leader" of the competing flavor of cool-aid that our politicians for some odd reason really love despite being the source of pretty much all terrorism in the past 30 years, but that's my pet theory.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Conversely, don't. by emil · · Score: 2
    Tor Bridge nodes are built to handle precisely this situation.

    It's free to use and free of ads and malware - I assume that "Psiphon" isn't, since they mention how much government crackdowns help their marketing.

  9. Re:Give that country nuclear weapons! by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you want to look for crazy mullahs, you're looking at the wrong muslim state. Yes, the Iran is vocal and you get to hear a lot about their rhetoric, but if you're looking for funding for Islamist schools, Islamist mosques and yes, Islamist terrorists, you should be looking for the only country on this planet that still doesn't have a name and is basically called "The land of family Saud".

    Funny how our politicians never seem to have any kind of problem with this particular country and how they even used whatever political influence necessary to stop investigations against this country whenever the trail to terrorist activities gets too hot to ignore anymore. No matter what side of the political fence they might be sitting on.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Re:Give that country nuclear weapons! by rtb61 · · Score: 1

    Look, wake up to yourselves. Nobody buys the propaganda any more. What Trump says is exactly what the US has done for decades. Democracy and justice, nope, turning countries into shit holes that US corporations can ruthlessly exploit, stealing the resources and using slave labour to do it. A straight up continuation of imperialistic policies from the monarchists, unlike the Belgies cutting off hands the US fires missiles from drones into unsuspecting populations when their obedience quotient falls short.

    Trump has been a breath of fresh air, or is that just the true miasma from the shadow government swamp, the truth about the reality US foreign policy for all to see. People are starting to wonder if he is doing it on purpose, talking exactly the way the US government actually behaves instead of Uncle Tom Obamas sweet talking bullshit whilst he was doing exactly the same things, after Bush/Clinton/Bush did the same things, just getting worse all the time.

    Typical SJW shite, which in reality in falsely claiming to be the left, a great big ole fat deep state lie, their only real function is not progressivism (just look a screeching women demanding equal high pay, but totally silent about men and women on the most unequal pay, the minimum wage, feminists don't wont to end that exploitation, they want to become the exploiters), the sole function of the SJWs is to deny workers a political party, that is why the screeching morons were created, to ensure no workers party in the USA, the majority denied a voice by the screechers of the SJW puppet community.

    --
    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  11. The reason for success is... by mapkinase · · Score: 2

    ... technological backwardness of government, not excellence of tools or technological awareness of "progressive" masses.

    Russia and China have successfully censored their Internet portions. That's a fact. There is near-to-zero opposition in information sphere within Russia and all the activists I have been reading are confined to their Western audiences from their Western blogs.

    --
    I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  12. Re:Give that country nuclear weapons! by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    You can type while vomiting.

    We get it.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  13. Re:Obama was the Muslim Manchurian candidate? by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

    Show me one time Obama backed the Muslim Brotherhood.
    Go ahead chump.