54 
Desperately clutching at straws, trying to kill off the civil unrest that’s currently unfolding, the Syrian government has banned iPhones from the country. The ban is an attempt to prevent coverage of violent crack-downs on anti-Assad, pro-democracy protests by government-controlled forces.
With the majority of foreign media barred from the country, citizen journalism presents the only route for getting the word out about the heavy-handed actions of the currently-standing government. One activist talking to Haaretz said that:
“It is enough for any tourist or guest visiting Syria to own an iPhone to be a spy suspect.”
Time to switch to Android then, although I doubt the pro-government forces are likely to make that distinction. You have been warned. [Haaretz via Engadget]
That’s OK, all the cool kids have Android phones anyway.
Wrong, All the cool kids have Retro Nokia’s that can’t send text’s… well ok they don’they have Blackberries !! Poor sods !
The logic of the regime is untrue
They have possibly picked on iPhone either because:
1) the US has many sanctions against the regime
2) or iPhones will get an update to remove CarrierIQ; this might make it harder for the regime to track activists
And how likely is it of a disadvantaged Syrian protestor to hold an expensive iPhone compared to a cheaper android?
Picture of the legal document:
news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2011/Dec/Week1/16123469.jpg
Translation:
“Generalisation”
“It is prohibited to use /I Phone/ due to the forbidden features it has that have been banned by the general telecommunications organistation / General Establishment for Communications / under penalty of confiscation and legal questioning”
I wonder… could Bashar Al Assad asked Siri a question relating to what was happening and Siri replied with a anti-regime/ pro-opposition answer?
Insert obvious “they are a horrible repressive empire and Syria are pretty bad too” joke here.
Whilst in Siria you’re only allowed the 4S.
Pingback: The Power of Citizen Journalism | Laura Richards