On December 4, Freedom House released its fifth annual "Freedom on the Net" report, a comprehensive study of internet freedom in 65 countries. The following are key developments surrounding Iran's internet freedom between May 2013 and May 2014.
Study finds #Iran has least amount of #Internet freedom; Iceland the most. http://t.co/qQpJYid0Zu via @mashable pic.twitter.com/uiyRchAANo
— Fahimn (@fahimn) December 17, 2014
Iran ranked 156 out of 192 countries for internet speed and has the lowest average peak connection speed in the world. The new government promised to increase the average speed two-fold by the next year, and eight-fold by the end of President Rouhani’s first term.
Although the new administration has embraced social media, major platforms like Twitter and Facebook remain blocked and inaccessible to Iranian citizens.
While the election of Rouhani has resulted in enthusiasm, including a mild decrease in self-censorship online, significant constraints on speech and access to information remain present. Censorship was particularly heavy in the lead-up to the June 2013 presidential election, and Sunni-linked sites have come under target as regional sectarian tensions continue to enflame.
Six Iranians were arrested for producing and appearing in a YouTube video entitled “Happy in Tehran,” featuring men and women dancing together, without headscarves, in a similar fashion to hundreds of homemade videos from around the world that mimic the “Happy” music video by popular American musician Pharrell Williams.
Although there were no documented cases of deaths this year, Iranians continue to be receive lengthy prison terms for their online activities. Tech bloggers in Kerman, contributors to a Sufi website, and Facebook page administrators were jailed for up to 20 years.
Click here for the full report