The Telecommunication Co. of Iran already has a monopoly over most of the country's telephone and Internet services. But now, with the help of the Chinese-based ZTE Corp, the government can use TCI to spy on its citizens and arrest critics, human-rights groups say. Just this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad created the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, which he leads, to protect "against internet evils." Newly released documents show that the ZTE system allows Ahmadinejad and his government to look in on emails, chats, Web searches, text messages and even locate users and identify their voice.
