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NIAC Applauds Efforts to Address Growing "Electronic Curtain" Over Iran
NIAC welcomes the decision by the Obama Administration to lift sanctions on additional categories of personal communication tools to support the free exchange of information with the Iranian people.
For
Immediate Release
Contact:
Jamal Abdi
202.386.6408
Washington, DC – The National Iranian
American Council (NIAC) welcomes the decision
by the Obama Administration to lift sanctions on additional categories of
personal communication tools to support the free exchange of information with
the Iranian people, which President Obama announced in his
speech wishing the Iranian people a happy Norooz. NIAC strongly encouraged today’s action, and has
worked
extensively with members of Congress and Executive Branch officials to ensure
that US sanctions do not infringe upon the Iranian people’s basic rights to
access information and communications tools.
“Today’s announcement is another important
step to ensure that U.S. sanctions don’t continue to inadvertently aid the
efforts of the Iranian government to put an electronic curtain between the
Iranian people and the rest of the world,” said NIAC Policy Director Jamal
Abdi.
Under today’s announcement, the
following services and software may generally be exported to Iran without a
license:
- Personal Communications (e.g., Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk,
Microsoft Live, Skype (non-fee based)) - Personal Data Storage (e.g., Dropbox)
- Internet Browsers (e.g., Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet
Explorer) - Browser Plug-ins (e.g., Flashplayer, Shockwave, Java)
- Document Readers (e.g., Acrobat Readers)
- Free Mobile Apps Related to Personal Communications
- RSS Feed Readers and
Aggregators (e.g., Google Feed Burner).
In addition, the Treasury Department
has announced a “favorable licensing policy” with regards to other categories
of tools, including those related to web hosting, online advertising, and paid Internet
communication tools. Under this policy,
the onus is still on individual companies to apply for a license so their
products can be used in Iran. NIAC
strongly urges companies like Google, GoDaddy, and Skype, which could provide
more secure telephone services, to take advantage of this new policy so that
Iranians can benefit from their services.
“We hope companies will now take
advantage of new policy, but the U.S. Government’s work is not done,” said Abdi. “Further efforts
are needed so that services like satellite Internet and hardware for accessing
such services are no longer blocked by sanctions.”
Read more at National Iranian American Council
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