International. The strong restrictions on the Iranian population led the government of that country to present a video portal that avoids "the contamination of the West", as indicated by Lotfolah Siahkalí, vice president of Virtual Media of the official Iranian television, Irib.
And although the portal will have the same options to upload and watch videos that the original portal provides, its content will be restricted to the promotion of Islamic culture and will have restrictions for the international community.
This is another step of the Iranian government against Youtube, a fight that began in 2009 after the re-election of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, amid criticism and protests that were disseminated through this portal. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have also been censored.
This is another step forward for the Iranian government as part of the project to create a national internet, only for its country, which is beyond the international reach, since that government ensures that the internet is today dominated by specific countries.
But there are those who go further and argue that the national internet is a more political issue, in order to maintain control over the population and prevent the dissemination of information regarding the nuclear program, as well as cyberattacks by their enemies.
The Iranian Youtube, as they themselves have called it, can be visited on the www.mehr.ir page and is designed in Persian language. By launching the portal, the Iranian government is promoting a cartoon and short film contest.
