The Iranian judiciary has issued an order to block the social networking sites for Line, WhatsApp and Tango, IRNA reports. The news comes after months of conflict between the judiciary and the administration over the filtering of social networking sites. The Rohani administration insists that the government should only block the criminal content of websites rather the blocking the whole site.

A spokesperson for the internet censorship committee announced on Wednesday that an order has been issued by the judiciary to filter communication software such as Line, WhatsApp and Tango for mobile phones.

The report adds that this order is about the complete blocking of these services and not a “smart filtering” of the sites.

Smart filtering” is the term used by the government to indicate the selective censorship of website content that is considered criminal as opposed to completely blocking those sites.

The Rohani government has been intent on reducing the level of internet censorship, especially regarding social networking sites. However, Islamic Republic hardliners have shown serious opposition in this regard.

Radio Zamaneh