Iran Blocks Gmail, Google Searches in Film Revenge

Iran has punished Google for not yanking a 14-minute YouTube trailer for the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims by doing some yanking of its own. The government is blocking Gmail and Google search functions, reports CNN. YouTube has been blocked in the country since mid-2009. The sites were blocked "because of public demand," Iran's Mehr news agency said yesterday. "Google and YouTube continued to carry the film clip that insulted our people's sacred beliefs." One analyst said the action likely won't continue for long, and that "any schoolchild" already knows how to dodge many blocks.

Google and Gmail "will be filtered nationwide, and will remain filtered until further notice," says an adviser to Iran's public prosecutor's office. The notice was also sent out to Iranians via text messages, reports the BBC. There was no immediate response from Google, but the action wasn't likely to shock or hurt the company too much. Besides, Google was too busy smirking all the way to the bank.The company's stock hit an all-time high of $750.04 in late trading yesterday before a record closing price of $749.38, topping its last high set in late 2007, reports CNN. (More Google stories.)