Iraq Bans Social Networking Sites In Bid Against Insurgents

Iraq has followed in the footsteps of some of its nearby neighbors, putting a blanket ban on all major social networking websites in a bid to prevent possible political uprising. Reports are coming in saying Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google have all been blocked.

The bans have reportedly been made out of fear that Isis, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have been using the aforementioned social networking websites to plan for upcoming insurgencies. Though unconfirmed, it is said that Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister of Iraq, is behind the move.

The question at this point is whether the ban has taken place across the entire nation. The BBC's Richard Galpin has reported that these websites are not accessible inside of Baghdad, but there's yet to be confirmation about other regions in the nation.

As the government struggles to deal with the insurgency taking place by Isis, residents are left having to use other methods for accessing Twitter and other services, much in the same way residents in Turkey had to go to various extremes.

SOURCE: International Business Times