LONDON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Tehran appointed a 12-member team of police and other security officials to monitor the Internet for information opposing the principles of the republic.
Authorities said the increase in the use of the Internet creates a need to monitor crime occurring in cyberspace.
They said cybercrimes, which include insults to the principles of the Islamic republic, would be treated like ordinary crime.
Reform leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, defeated candidates in the disputed June presidential contest, have used the Internet as a conduit to broadcast their messages in a tightly controlled press environment in Iran.
The crackdown is seen as part of an effort to confront the rise in the use of the Internet by leading opposition voices in Iran like Mousavi and Karroubi, London's Guardian newspaper reports.
Web activity in the midst of the civil protests that gripped Tehran in the wake of the June election was disrupted severely as demonstrators used social outlets like Facebook and YouTube to get around government restrictions.
Iran has strict enforcement measures against the press, closing or limiting the publication of outlets seen as publishing opposing viewpoints. A system to monitor blogging and high-speed Internet access for home use was also put in place recently.
