PR Quote Of The Day: Facilitating Iran's Censorship

A joint venture between Nokia and Siemens sold technology to Iran that's giving the government the power to block and censor Internet communications, the Wall Street Journal reports. It falls to poor Nokia-Siemens spokesman Ben Roome to justify his company's business decision:

"We believe providing people, wherever they are, with the ability to communicate is preferable to leaving them without the choice to be heard."

Or not to be heard. The company didn't only sell Iran a nationwide mobile communications network -- it also built a sophisticated "monitoring" center that gives authorities the ability to block and censor incoming and outgoing communication. Undoubtedly, or many doubtfully, Iran justified the purchase of the center under the guise of cybersecurity, and it's true that Western governments -- like the U.S. -- have the same technology....just ask your friends at Ft. Meade and Google "Eric Lichtblau" and "NSA." 

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/06/pr-quote-of-the-day-facilitating-irans-censorship/19824/