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AP staff , AP

TEHRANIran's police chiefsays the Islamic Republic is developing new software to control social networking sites.

Gen. Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam was quoted in Iranian newspapers Saturday as saying the new software will prevent Iranians from being exposed to malicious content online while allowing users to enjoy the benefits of the Internet. He did not say when the software would be introduced.

Moghadam also did not specify which social networking sites would be affected, but both Facebook and Twitter are popular in Iran.

Iranians currently have access to most of the Internet, although authorities block some sites affiliated with the opposition, as well as those that are seen as promoting dissent or considered morally corrupt.

Iran created a government agency last year to oversee Internet usage in the country.

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Iran developing controls for social network sites

Iran is designing "intelligent software" that would give citizens restricted and controlled access to banned social networking sites, local media on Sunday quoted police chief Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam as saying.

"Smart control of social networks will not only avoid their disadvantages, but will also allow people to benefit from their useful aspects," Ahmadi Moghadam said, as cited by the 7Sobh daily.

"The designing of intelligent software to control social networking websites" is underway, he added.

Facebook, Twitter and many other social websites are blocked by an official filtering mechanism as part of Iran's strict Internet censorship.

But many web users in Iran, where half of the 75-million population is connected to the Internet, have found ways around the blocks through sophisticated software known as VPN despite it being declared illegal in Iran.

Ahmadi Moghadam hinted that the new software would allow Iranians to have limited access to social networks.

"Smart control of social networks is better than filtering them completely," he said, without elaborating.

His comments came after the launch in mid-December of a Facebook page dedicated to the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attracted a great deal of attention at home and abroad.

Authorities regularly warn Iranians against the dangers of social websites, arguing they are part of a Western-backed plot to undermine the Islamic regime.

Iran launched a "cyber police" unit in 2011 to confront anti-regime conduct online. But the death of blogger Sattar Beheshti in its custody in November provoked an international outcry, leading to the dismissal of its chief after an official inquiry.

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Iran designing software for controlled social media access

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL

Iran's chief of police, Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam, has said that the country is developing software to control social-networking sites. Speaking to reporters on January 2, Ahmadi Moghadam said the "smart control" of social-networking sites is more useful than their complete filtering.

Cartoon about Supreme Leader joining facebook (source: Mardomak)

"The smart control of social-networking sites not only prevents their harm, but also allows people to benefit from their useful parts," he said. Moghadam said the establishment last year of a Supreme Council of Cyberspace was a factor in reaching that conclusion.

His comments come some three weeks after the launch of a Facebook page devoted to Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which is believed to have been created and administered by his office.

The page has led to domestic calls for the unblocking of Facebook, which is filtered in Iran.

Until recently, Iranian officials warned citizens against the use of social-networking sites, which the state considered evil Western tools in the soft war aimed at bringing down the clerical establishment.

Iran filters Facebook and, apparently, also monitors it. Yet millions of Iranians access the social-networking site through antifiltering tools. The recent developments suggest a growing willingness to admit that filtering of social-networking sites has not served the establishment's purposes.

Moghadam's comments could also indicate that the Islamic republic is working to more aggressively monitor social-networking sites, which have provided activists with a relatively free platform for disseminating information about taboo issues.

In recent months, several activists have been threatened and detained over their Facebook postings, including blogger Sattar Beheshti, who died last year in custody after being arrested by Iran's cybercrime police.

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Iran Developing 'Smart Control' Software For Social-Networking Sites

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