Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Back in 2012, in his Persian New Year message to the Iranian people, President Obama lamented the "electronic curtain" that had fallen over Iran, as the country's clerical regime ramped up its digital presence and censorship capabilities to track and neuter the nation's opposition forces.

Iran's nationwide Internet blackout will last until late March, a new report said -- as fears grow that Iranians' access to the Web will be permanently stripped as a means for Tehran to control them.