According to Peter Kenyon's article on NPR, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, got a Facebook page this December. Facebook is one of the many websites that are banned in Iran. This move by Khamenei has people scratching their heads.
Many thought the news of Khamenei's Facebook page were fake because they did not think he would use technology that the government blocks. The rumors were confirmed when Khamenei defended himself on his Twitter account. A U.S. State Department spokeswoman was quoted asking how many "likes" the pages would get.
Although Iran has one of the highest percentages of Internet access in the Middle East, the number of websites they can actually visit is limited. The Government has went as far as to create "cyberpolice units" that are in charge of tracking users that visit banned websites.
When Khamenei began using Facebook it gave citizens hope that the ban on social media websites would be lifted. They were sadly mistaken. In order for them to visit Facebook or Twitter they must "pick security locks."
The main reason the government is worried about social media websites is the protests after the 2009 election. Activists took to social media websites to voice their opinion. I think Iran should open up their Internet. People are going to have opinions on everything. Just because they are blocking it on the internet, they can not stop people from voicing their opinion.