Finding a Voice: Using the Internet for Free Speech and Expression in Iran

In July 2009, many Iranians took to the streets to protest the results of the presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won with a reported 62% of the vote. The protests, stemming from allegations of electoral fraud, quickly exposed the government's limited tolerance for dissent. In addition to street demonstrations, protestors utilized social networking websites to express their opposition to the election results. The world, following Internet feeds, witnessed the restrictive mechanisms Iran’s government placed on expression and speech.

People throughout the world admonished Iran for the government's interference with cell phone and Internet networks. Iran’s free speech and expression restrictions are frequently criticized as some of the most repressive in the world. In the days and months following the election, people in Iran and around the world came to understand how the Internet has become a prominent method of protest, as well as a new area in which individual’s freedoms can be repressed.