Iran’s minister of communications reports that the first stage of “smart filtering” for the internet has been “successful” and the second stage has now been launched.
IRNA reports that according to Mahmoud Vaezi, the so called “smart filtering” is a complex project envisioned in three stages.
The report adds that the ministry has signed agreements with several specialized companies, universities and research centers for the completion of the project.
Mahmoud Vaezi announced that the project is progressing on time and they are hopeful that it will be completed as scheduled.
“Smart filtering” is the term Iranian authorities have been using for their latest efforts in internet censorship, which instead of blocking whole websites attempts to block only sections which the authorities regard as inappropriate.
Many popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter are blocked for internet users in Iran and they can only be accessed through proxies, which many people use.