Iran blocks Internet access again ahead of parliamentary polls

Tehran, Feb 21 (ANI): Access to the Internet in Iran was disrupted once again on Monday, sparking worries that the country is stepping up censorship ahead of up-coming national elections.

According to an Iranian technology expert, foreign websites beginning with "https" were not available.

On February 10, Iran blocked Internet access as people prepared to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Services like Gmail, Google and Yahoo were restricted, and users were unable to log in to their online banking.

This time, special software that many Iranians use to dodge government filters was not working, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The Tor network, which helps people connect anonymously to the Internet, reported that its Iranian traffic plunged two weeks ago when problems with "https" websites were reported earlier, dropping from 50,000 users to nearly zero.

The numbers later rebounded as Iranians found ways to work around it.

According to the report, this year, the Iranian government has added more pressure for its citizens who go online.

New government rules require Iranians to show their photo IDs and give full names when they visit cyber cafes. The cafes, in turn, must track the websites their customers visit. (ANI)