That’s another headline that bears explanation. I guess the Internet isn’t too popular in Iran. I mean, maybe it is, but it’s not with the ruling party. Probably just getting tired of all the adviceanimals posts on Reddit.
But, either way, Iran has decided that our Internet – the world’s Internet – is just too filthy to censor and is going to create a country-wide Intranet to be used in its place.
The catch is that certain “elite” users will have access to the proper, standard flavour of Internet – elite users being Banks, dignitaries, big companies and ministries.
With this “new Internet” will come a new email that works within it and a search engine to help navigate it, called Ya Haq.
That said, besides the obvious issues surrounding content that have led to this decision, this line from the Ars article struck me in particular:
“To be able to get an e-mail account with Ya Haq, users would have to register their identity with the government.”
Oh. Ok. This makes a little more sense now. That would give the Iranian government unparalleled insight as to who does what and where on the Internet, a far cry from the relative anonymity enjoyed most everywhere else in the world on the Net (besides China, obviously).
JD
Original article: Iran to kill Internet and launch a “clean” alternative (SlashGear)