Internet Content Filtering in Iran: Verification of Reported Banned Websites

As part of its ongoing research into Internet censorship and surveillance worldwide, including in Iran, the ONI connected to remote computers in Iran and tested the RSF list and the blacklist obtained by stop.censoring.us. We found that Iran is indeed engaged in extensive Internet content filtering beyond just pornography, including many political, religious, social, and blogging websites. However, we caution that the case presented here provides an instructive lesson concerning the type of limited conclusions that can and should be drawn about both the extent and character of Internet censorship in any country. Click Here to read the full bulletin.