United States Agency for Global Media

Mideast Iran Internet

Iranians surf the web in an internet cafe at a shopping center, in central Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranians surf the web in an internet cafe at a shopping center, in central Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. Iran’s police chief says the Islamic Republic is developing new software to control social networking sites. Iran’s leaders have placed a top priority on efforts to stamp out online dissent and fight the co-called “soft war” against perceived Western influence via the Internet, which remains highly filtered in Iran but blocks are often bypassed by the country’s educated and tech-savvy population. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)