Iran has restored blocks on Facebook and Twitter after a “technical glitch” briefly removed filters from the social networks overnight.
Iranians gained direct access to the sites for the first time in four years because of a fault, an official said, denying suggestions the government had lifted a ban in place since anti-government protests in 2009, some of which were organised on social media.
Newly elected President Hassan Rouhani has pledged greater engagement with the West and a new openness in Iran.
It has been suggested the “glitch” could point to internal power struggles between groups seeking to reopen Facebook and other social networking sites and hard-liners in the establishment, who remain in control of Internet access.
But Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, secretary of a state committee tasked with monitoring and filtering sites, said problems with some Iranian Internet service providers (ISPs) had allowed the access, and the government was investigating.
Read more at Sky News.