Ali Akbar Velayati and Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel are going to pay a visit to the country’s Supreme Council of Virtual Space. Accordingly, they will also participate in a press-conference to address reporters’ questions about the status of Internet in Iran.
It is expected that Iran’s presidential hopefuls to discuss their plans and ideas about expanding Internet access in Iran. Ecommerce topics will be also discussed in coming press-conferences.
In 2012, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered officials to set up a body to oversee the Internet status in country. A number of top officials of Iran beside President are the official members of this committee. However, the performance of this council has been repeatedly criticized by local politicians and experts.
Base on unofficial statistics, more than 54% of websites in world are officially blocked in Iran. During the recent months, Iranian government has cut users’ access to tools and methods, which enable them to bypass governmental Internet restrictions.
Many Internet clients in Iran are struggling to access social network websites such as Facebook and Twitter. As of 2013, more than 6 million Iranians have registered accounts in Facebook. According to information provided by Iran’s IT and technology ministry, the country has more than 45 million Internet users.