US senators urge action on Iran Internet

Thu, 21 Jan 2010

Five US Senators publically urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to expedite aid flow to fight Internet restrictions in Iran, amid accusations that Washington interferes in Iran's internal affairs.

In a letter made public on Wednesday, the senators urged Clinton to swiftly spend $45 million that has been earmarked over the last two years to fight Internet restrictions in countries like Iran, the New York Times reported.

In July 2009, the US Senate ratified a plan to curb what it called "censorship" in the Islamic Republic.

A bill dubbed the Victims of Iranian Censorship (VOICE) Act is aimed at funding measures "to counter Iranian government efforts to jam radio, satellite, and Internet-based transmissions."

It also allocates $30 million for the US government to expand activities of Radio Free Europe's Persian-language radio broadcasts into Iran.

Washington will also take measures to counter Tehran's "efforts to block, censor, or monitor the Internet in Iran" with another $20 million, the ratification said.

Republican Senator John McCain, one of the sponsors of the bill, said the VOICE Act would help to open up the Iranian society "by providing assistance for broadcasting and new Internet and communications technologies."

The move comes amid an assertion by Iranian officials that Washington has not changed its approach toward Tehran, and it continues to meddle in the country's internal affairs.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116700§ionid=3510203.