Re: Iran censorship crackdown, bans internet sites (wiki, youtube, others)
authorities in Pakistan also take cue from China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Last I heard that there is an elaborate plan underway to monitor websites that they are suspicious about. This just points towards the heightening paranoia on part of the governments (establishment rather) across the board. While Iranians and Chinese are more notorious when it comes to levying restrictions on usage of almost every medium of mass-communication, therby impinging upon the very 'freedom/s' of the society as a whole; one can't absolve US of what it does and how it blows into smithrens the 'privacy' of an individual.
Its just a matter of degree and approach that a state follows. Some states employ sophisticated and subtle means while others just become the butt of all jokes due to the manner they execute their policies.