Making the Web Safer for Iranian Citizens

Posted by Fraser Lovatt on 12 September 2003 at 12:22 pm | Tagged as: Distribution

The US International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) have partnered with Anonymizer to provide an email and newsletter service that uses changing URLs to allow Iranian citizens to access sites that have been blocked by the government. The URLs are also promoted on Voice of America and Radio Farda. Once a URL is blocked, a new one is provided – the voanews.com and radiofarda.com servers act as a trusted intermediary, and the service even includes a SafeCookie feature for sites that use mandatory user cookies.

Ken Berman, program manager for Internet Anti-censorship activities at the IBB : "The links to the service provided within the emails point to either the VOA or Radio Farda sites, but they can go anywhere on the Internet. Dissident sites, religious sites, the L.L. Bean catalogue — they are free to explore the Internet as they wish, in an unfettered fashion."

Importantly, Anonymizer’s technologies also mean that it’s impossible for the authorities to find out which sites an individual has visited.

Formed in 1996, Anonymizer, Inc has over 100,000 paying subscribers worldwide. The new Iranian service to similar to the one they have provided in China and other countries censoring net access.

Anonymizer

Radio Farda