The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has loosened restrictions on Internet services provided in Iran, Cuba, and Sudan.
American companies had been barred from providing some chat, instant messaging, e-mail and social networking services to those countries, and from exporting software to support those functions.
“Consistent with the administration’s deep commitment to the universal rights of all the world’s citizens, the issuance of these general licenses will make it easier for individuals in Iran, Sudan, and Cuba to use the Internet to communicate with each other and with the outside world. Today’s actions will enable Iranian, Sudanese, and Cuban citizens to exercise their most basic rights,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin in a statement on Monday.
