Facebook and Twitter access was blocked again in Iran on Tuesday, after citizens found they could get on the social media sites without having to sidestep government firewalls.
Officials in Tehran told the New York Times that a glitch in the system gave users temporary access to the sites, which have been blocked for the past four years on grounds that anti-government dissidents used wall posts and tweets to promote protests. Some politicians have recently called Facebook a "Zionist tool."
Iranian citizens usually gain access to the sites through a virtual private network, or VPN - software that uses other computers in different countries to connect to blocked websites. Eventually, the telecommunications ministry found a way to block VPN use as well, the New York Times reported.
Some assumed that the technical glitch was brought on by quarrels between groups who are working to make the websites available and those who want to keep them blocked.
Iranian users were surprised to find that they could gain access to Facebook, posting their bewilderment and delight on their walls, causing news of the freed-up sites to spread - of course - through social media itself.
"God liberated Facebook," Mohammad Reza wrote on his Facebook, the Washington Post reported.
"Hurray, I came to Facebook without VPN," a user named Bita posted. "Thank you Rouhani!!!"
Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani, who has largely been seen as a more moderate and progressive leader, said he'd work to scale back Internet censorship. Some members of his office have even gotten social media accounts, including foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who posts tweets almost daily.
Internet officials in Tehran managed to reestablish the blocks by Tuesday evening.
The Iranian Supreme Council for Cyberspace is responsible for keeping tabs on blocked websites. A special unit of the Internet police goes to citizens' homes, urging them to keep off banned pages.
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
