TEHRAN: More than two thirds of young Iranians are using illegal software to reach websites that are officially banned, government research cited by media said Monday.

The study, by the research center of the Ministry of Sport and Young People, was publicized just one day after President Hassan Rouhani said existing Internet controls were counter-productive.

“69.3 percent use proxies to circumvent censorship and go on the Internet,” said Mohammad Taghi Hassanzadeh, head of the research center. Iran has a policy of filtering online content, which leaves websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube inaccessible without the use of prohibited software.