January 29th, 2010 by Stephen

Persia House has translated an interesting article from the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) on the rapid increase in the number of internet cafes in Iran, adding their own analysis of the report.  Persia House concludes, “The increase in internet cafes is a mixed blessing for the Iranian regime. On the one hand it can boast that the spread of the internet demonstrates the Islamic Republic’s continued technological progress in the face of ‘imperialist’ powers’ efforts to stymie it: with approximately 26 million online users, Iranians make up almost 50 percent of total internet users in the Middle East. On the other hand, the government has long been trying to catch up to its citizens’ ability to access ‘insidious’ information from the West, and to communicate with the outside world. Indeed, the virtual realm is a major arena in which the struggle between the opposition and the government is taking place; control over new media will play a determinative role in Iran’s political future.”

Posted in Iran, Technology |