Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has implemented a law requiring the country’s Internet service providers to retain records of users’ incoming and outgoing data for at least three months, according to a Monday report by the state-run PressTV news agency. The government said the law is designed to help catch those who illegally steal others’ personal information from the Internet, and that the data would only be monitored under court order or in the interest of national security. Critics argue that the law will enable the government to monitor and censor the internet use [Al Jazeera report] of reporters and political dissidents, whose blogging and use of social networking websites have thus far been able to evade press restrictions.
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