Access Restored for Some Iranian Users to YouTube

Mahr News Agency reported that some Iranian users gained access to the YouTube website starting Sunday night. This video-sharing site has been blocked in Iran for about 10 years. On Sunday, January 27, the agency reported that in the last hours of the previous night, some Iranian users receiving internet services from various companies found the ability to access YouTube. It is unclear whether access to YouTube continued on Sunday. According to this report, the coincidence of some users gaining access to this site with the implementation of the JCPOA (Vienna nuclear agreement) and the announcement of the lifting of sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program led some users on social media to believe this event was the reason for access to YouTube. Conservative factions in Iran oppose access to YouTube and other social networks, accusing users of engaging in 'immoral' and 'obscene' activities on these sites. YouTube, owned by Google, has been blocked in Iran for about 10 years, but access has occasionally been possible for short periods during these years. Mahr News Agency cited experts regarding the temporary access to this site last night, stating, 'The filtering system on the internet bandwidth entering the country is applied through various equipment, and it may occasionally face technical issues that inadvertently allow some users access to certain filtered sites.' Mohammad Reza Farnaghi Zadeh, the Director General of Public Relations at Iran's Ministry of Communications, also told the news agency that 'the Ministry of Communications has played no role in this matter and has no plan to lift the filter from YouTube.' Mahr News Agency also quoted the Public Relations Officer of the Infrastructure Communications Company, stating that the company has 'not received any letter so far regarding lifting the filter from YouTube or other sites.' He added that the Infrastructure Communications Company is investigating the reason for some users' access to YouTube. The government of Hassan Rouhani implemented a plan called 'smart filtering' to respond to conservative factions' opposition to unrestricted access to social networks, allowing users limited access to these networks; however, YouTube apparently does not fall under this plan. Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran's Minister of Communications, told reporters on December 27, 2014, that although the ministry is implementing the 'smart filtering' plan, this does not mean lifting the filter from YouTube and Facebook. Vaezi explained that 'the new government has decided that social networks that have been active should not be filtered.' However, the Minister added that 'smart filtering does not mean lifting the filtering of previously filtered sites and social networks like Facebook and YouTube, as these matters are related to the decision-making of the Criminal Content Determination Working Group.' The 'Criminal Content Determination Working Group,' which operates under the supervision of the Attorney General, was established in 2009 following the approval of the Computer Crimes Law by the parliament and the Guardian Council's confirmation.