Iran has blocked access to the popular video-sharing web site YouTube.com. Internet users who tried to access the YouTube site on Tuesday found the message: "On the basis of the Islamic Republic of Iran laws, access to this website is not authorized" - which appears on the numerous opposition and pornographic web sites that the government blocks.

Similar edicts have been issued against Wikipedia, the internet encyclopaedia, IMDB.com, the online film database, and the New York Times site.
Iran's Shiite cleric-run government regularly blocks opposition web sites, including blogs, and sites that bring up the "unauthorized" message has been increasing over the past year. Western news sites, however, are generally available.

Videos from the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and other Iranian opposition groups have been posted on YouTube.com, along with videos posted by individual Iranians who criticised the regime. The site also contains Iranian pop music videos.
Iran was among 13 countries branded "enemies of the internet" last month by the human rights group, Reporters Without Borders. In it’s statement, Reporters Without Borders, warned that "censorship is now the rule rather than the exception" in Iran.
The government is trying to create a digital border to stop culture and news coming from abroad - a vision of the Net which is worrying for the country's future," it said.

"The Iranian government policy is not an isolated case. It is getting closer and closer to that of the authorities in China, with particular stress being laid on censorship of cultural output," it said.
The group cited Western press reports that the government issued a ban on high-speed Internet connections in October. Iranian telecommunications officials have denied any such ban was issued, saying high speed connections had not been extended to some areas because the government had too few lines. High-speed connections are available in some part of Tehran, but not in many others.

The ban on YouTube reflects a growing official sensitivity to private films on the internet, an issue highlighted by a recent online video which appears to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex.

With some 7.5 million surfers, Iran is believed to have the highest rate of web use in the Middle East after Israel. The net's popularity has prompted an estimated 100,000 bloggers, many opposed to the Islamic regime.

written by Cristian L.