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Internet proves vital outlet for Iran election protests

As Iran continues to deal with unrest over the national elections, the Internet provides an outlet for Iran’s younger generation to get their views known across the world.

Image courtesy of Associated Press

One of the great things about the Internet is its global reach.

And as hard as they’re trying, Iran’s authorities are still unable to block the wave of communication from Iran’s youth, as well as opinions around the world.  Twitter has been a focal point, with the Iran elections one of the most popular searches over the past few days.  A quick look just now and it’s still the most popular topic.

Among the tweets are ways to ensure that Iranians can still get through to the Internet as well as back-up services in case Twitter is down.  Details on proxies that can be used by Internet users in the country are being tweeted (posted on Twitter) so they can use the Internet unmonitored.

Proxy servers can be used by surfers to browse the Internet anonymously by configuring it in their web browser, so they would actually be connecting to the Internet through another country in the world.  This lessens the chances of Iran’s censors stopping them accessing websites. 

Twitter users mounted their own protest today, requesting that the micro-blogging site delay scheduled maintenance, to which it agreed.  It appears the US Government also asked it do the same.

Many from in Iran are writing on their personal blogs about the general mood, the protests, but most of all their remonstrance over the re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Some bloggers are changing local time settings to be Tehran time.  Currently censors in Iran are looking for blogs with this characteristic, so setting more blogs to Tehran time would make this task more difficult.

Users are also posting videos and pictures on media sharing sites of the often graphic and disturbing scenes involving violent clashes between protesters and Iran’s police.

It’s thought that at least 60 percent of Iran’s population is under 30 so it’s no surprise that they’re online, and voicing their views to the world in a way that they never would have been able to just 10 years ago.