Iran has announced plans to implement the first phase of a "National Internet" in late August.
Authorities have described the initiative as an effort to "better manage national emails and information gathering within the country and to improve security," according to a report by the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters without Borders.
Rights advocates believe the project is the latest element in a longstanding campaign to strengthen censorship and surveillance inside Iran, and have described it as an effort to impose a self-contained "intranet" inside the country.
The Iranian government ruthlessly seeks to control information transmission and communication both inside and outside the country's borders. It has stood up a "cyber army" to combat unauthorized Internet use and labeled social media networks as subversive, prosecuting bloggers along with independent journalists.
Radio Farda, RFE's Persian-language service, reported last week that the regime had opened a Facebook page mimicking its own to discredit it and confuse visitors.
Authorities have described the initiative as an effort to "better manage national emails and information gathering within the country and to improve security," according to a report by the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters without Borders.
Rights advocates believe the project is the latest element in a longstanding campaign to strengthen censorship and surveillance inside Iran, and have described it as an effort to impose a self-contained "intranet" inside the country.
The Iranian government ruthlessly seeks to control information transmission and communication both inside and outside the country's borders. It has stood up a "cyber army" to combat unauthorized Internet use and labeled social media networks as subversive, prosecuting bloggers along with independent journalists.
Radio Farda, RFE's Persian-language service, reported last week that the regime had opened a Facebook page mimicking its own to discredit it and confuse visitors.