Together, these measures indicate the regime's intention to increasingly cut off Iranian internet users from websites and others online resources based outside the country. These included: upgrading the filtering technology and using it to block particular types of traffic, hacking two international firms' digital certificates to undermine user privacy, and implementing the first stages towards establishing a National Internet. Instead, the regime turned to more nuanced and sophisticated tactics for subverting free expression online. These circumstances contributed to an overall deterioration in the internet freedom environment in 2011 and early 2012, although the mass arrests and denial-of-service attacks that characterized the previous two years were less prominent. The regime's increasing tendency to view the internet as a threat and the importance of countering the "Soft War" were reflected in various official statements in 2011. The government also reportedly allocated US$500 million in its 2010-11 annual budget for the purpose of combating of what it termed a "Soft War" being waged against the regime by its perceived enemies via media and online activities. After the internet played an important role in the opposition movement that followed the disputed presidential election of June 12, 2009, the Iranian authorities waged an active campaign against internet freedom, employing extensive and sophisticated methods of control that went well beyond simple content filtering. Over the past three years, the balance has markedly shifted towards the latter, as the leadership has decisively chosen political control over the benefits of a more open society. The Iranian regime has long had an ambivalent relationship with the internet, viewing it alternately as a catalyst for economic development or as an invading force that threatens the Islamic state's strict social, religious, and political values. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2012 - Iran, 25 September 2012, available at:
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