02/19/10
Iran reportedly shuts down Gmail
Iran's telecommunications agency has reportedly suspended Google's Gmail service in its country as it readies a national email service for Iranian citizens. According to the Wall Street Journal, Iranian officials said the move toward a national email service was done to help boost development of technology in the country as well as to “build trust between people and the government.” While Google did not confirm the blocking of its service in Iran it did release a statement indicating that there have been some anomalies with Gmail in Iran. “We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail,” Google said in a statement. “We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly.” The reported move to block Gmail came just ahead of street marches in Iran marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution and opposition plans to hold anti-government demonstrations.
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