In Censorship Move, Iran Plans Its Own Internet 206
An anonymous reader writes "Iran is taking steps toward an aggressive new form of censorship: a so-called national Internet that could, in effect, disconnect Iranian cyberspace from the rest of the world (summary of paywalled WSJ report). The leadership in Iran sees the project as a way to end the fight for control of the Internet, according to observers of Iranian policy inside and outside the country. Iran, already among the most sophisticated nations in online censoring, also promotes its national Internet as a cost-saving measure for consumers and as a way to uphold Islamic moral codes."
The article also mentions unconfirmed local press reports suggesting that Iran is building its own national operating system.
Re:Last Post! (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sure it'll go really well when buisness owners can't get email and have problems communicating with the outside world to sell their products.
"An anonymous reader writes" (Score:4, Insightful)
No, that was in fact quoting the Fox News article verbatim.
Even if we don't like copyright, we like correct attribution, right guys?
cultures are living things (Score:5, Insightful)
they cross breed and pollinate with each other, and therefore survive and prosper. when cultures wall themselves off in isolation, they wither and die. you can't preserve your country by locking it up. that's a recipe for obsolescence
iranian govt: you want persian minds to grow up in an echo chamber, unaware of the wider world. which simply means you want persian minds to be inferior minds. you are also extremely condescending and insulting to your own people: you don't think that they can handle exposure to other cultures. you think they will lose their persianness, as if iran is a weak thing that will go *POOF* at the first exposure to the decadent west. well, considering your street protests you brutally suppressed in 2009, you are close: the iranian GOVERNMENT is weak and will go *POOF* when it's people see how much better it is without your control freak nature at the helm. soon enough, you ignorant, arrogant assholes, your people will understand the problem is not the decadent west, but YOU
you would rather hobble your own people than liberalize the iranian government. all you do is hurt iran, just because you are insecure
long live iran: death to its feeble govt
Re:Private Mesh Networking? (Score:4, Insightful)
If you're living under a really opressive government those things don't really help.
pass a law making it illegal to run a mesh network(leave it vague so you can enforce it against whoever you like) and kick down the doors of a few people running "illegal network points" and justify it with something about terrorism or whatever enemy you like.
Re:If they want to cut of their population (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Let Them Go. Just... Let Them Go... (Score:4, Insightful)
The Iranian people are generally nice and progressive, it's their government that sucks. So go fuck yourself, I'm sure your country (whichever) has some assholes in charge itself.
Re:Last Post! (Score:5, Insightful)
The Iranian people were betrayed at every step of the way; first by the US and Britain, which deposed a democratic regime and put the Shah back in charge. Then by the Shah, who, while he wanted to modernize Iran, did so in the age old model of having secret police torturing and murdering dissidents. Then by Ayatollah Khomeini, Mr. Holy Man himself, who actively deceived Iranian reformers, convincing them that he was only interested in being a distant figure in Qom, but in reality wanted to set up a regime every bit as tyrannical as the Shah's, but many times more incompetent.