Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LONDON (AP) — Censors in Iran have been struggling to keep Justin Bieber's abs off of Instagram.
The shirtless poses have recently reappeared on Iranian smartphones -- along with lingerie shots of Kim Kardashian and red carpet photos of Jennifer Lopez.
Bieber's account was one of at least 983 that had previously been blocked in Iran, according to a paper being presented today at a technology conference in Germany. An author of the paper says Kardashian's and Lopez's pages were also among those blocked.
But an official with a London-based research group says a colleague in Iran confirmed that he was able to access the racy images today.
According to the authors of the paper, the images reappeared in Iran after Instagram began encrypting collections between smartphones and the site's servers in the past month. That means third parties can't easily tell whose accounts users are connecting to.
%@AP Links
APPHOTO MSC101: Internet researcher Mahsa Alimardani, right, and Frederic Jacobs pose for a portrait photo at the international internet and society conference 're-publica' in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, May 7, 2015. The researchers have found that Iranian censors are struggling to block Instagram photos of Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian as the service gains popularity in their country. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (7 May 2015)
<<APPHOTO MSC101 (05/07/15)££
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
