Censorship in Iran

After the Islamic revolution in 1979, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, also known as the Ershad, was created to control all cultural activities in the country. Since then, all musicians, writers, artists, and media makers need permits to publicly display their work. The Ershad is in charge of providing these permits and judges whether each producer's work aligns with Islamic culture. Different departments within the Ershad are responsible for interpreting what should and should not be censored. Licenses for journalists are provided by the Press Supervisory Board, and a license is withdrawn if a journalist criticizes the State. Censorship regulation is, therefore, a highly subjective practice which depends on the interpretation of the individual bureaucrat in charge, who dictates whether censorship will be applied or not. There is no existing law that specifies the details of this exception. The first part of this law prescribes a number of freedoms for the press, but the second part restricts these freedoms with very broad exceptions. Anything can be labeled as against "the principles of Islam" or "the rights of the public". Article 500 of the penal code states: "Anyone who engages in any type of propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran or in support of opposition groups and associations shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment." "Propaganda" is not clearly defined. This vagueness gives judges a lot of room for interpreting what is against the law and should therefore be punished. == History ==

Iran has a long history of censorship, especially with reactive measures. Information in newspapers and on television has been withheld from the public since before the Iranian Revolution of 1979. These forms of censorship were used for suppression of opposition and for influencing public opinion. == Subject matter and agenda ==

Political The Iranian regime view censorship as a measure to maintain the stability of the country. Its goal is to prevent unapproved reformists, Counter-Revolutionaries, or religious proponents, peaceful or otherwise, from organizing themselves and spreading their ideas. In 2007, for example, five women were charged with "endangering national security" and sentenced to prison for collecting over a million signatures supporting the abolishment of laws discriminating against women. Media Two notable crackdowns on the Iranian press occurred on August 7–11, 1979. This was early in the Islamic Revolution when the Khomeini forces were consolidating control, and dozens of non-Islamist newspapers were banned under a new press law banning "counter-revolutionary policies and acts." Despite a ban on satellite television, dishes are on many Iranian rooftops, and people have access to dozens of Persian-language channels, including the Voice of America, broadcasting a daily dose of politics and entertainment. Thirty percent of Iranians watch satellite channels, but observers say the figures are likely to be higher. A number of unauthorized foreign radio services also broadcast into Iran on shortwave and encounter occasional jamming by the Iranian government due to their controversial nature. Such services include a popular phone-in program from Kol Israel (Voice of Israel), where callers must dial a number in Europe to be rerouted to the studio in Israel in order to protect against persecution for communicating with an enemy state. In March 2009, Amoo Pourang (Uncle Pourang), a television show watched by millions of Iranian children three times a week on state TV, was pulled from broadcasting after a child appearing on the program called his pet monkey "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" live on air. In September 2017, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the Iranian judicial system and intelligence services (VEVAK) for their attempts to put pressure on Iranian journalists based abroad and on their families still in Iran. This was done to influence the Persian-language sections of international media outlets such as the BBC Persian Service to broadcast pro-government programs and news. Internet In the first decade of the 21st century, Iran experienced a great surge in Internet usage. With 20 million people on the Internet, Iran currently has the second-highest percentage of its population online in the Middle East, after Israel. When initially introduced, the Internet services provided by the government within Iran were comparatively open. Many users saw the internet as an easy way to get around Iran's strict press laws. In recent years, Internet service providers have been told to block access to pornographic and anti-religion websites. The ban has also targeted gaming platforms, such as Steam, as well as popular social networking sites, like Facebook and YouTube, alongside some news websites. The Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Sepah have routinely blocked popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and they decided to shut down the Internet during the protests in Iran in 2019. Many internet businesses were shut down during the 2019–20 Iranian protests. Books • The Satanic Verses • Memories of My Melancholy Whores Films • The Circle • Crimson Gold • Half Moon • Offside • Persepolis • Tcherike-ye Tara • Ten • Santouri • Marmoulak was banned for many years • Time of Love • 300 Video games • Battlefield 3 • ARMA 3 • 1979 Revolution: Black Friday • Pokémon Go Religious The agents of censorship are sometimes not official government employees but religious organizations. In 2007, after student newspapers at Amirkabir University of Technology published articles suggesting that no human being—including Muhammad—could be infallible, eight student leaders were arrested and taken to Evin Prison. Distributing Christian literature in Persian (also known as Farsi) is prohibited. ==See also==