Syria bans Apple's iPhone in attempt to silence protesters

Government authorities in Syria have reportedly banned the use of Apple's iPhone, as the country tries to quell protesters who seek to oust President Bashar Assad.

The Syrian Finance Ministry's Customs Department is serving activists with notices that read: "The authorities warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria," according to Lebanese website El Nashara (via The Next Web). The report includes a picture of the notice that is reportedly being distributed to protesters, alerting them of the ban on Apple's iPhone.

Authorities are believed to be targeting the iPhone because protesters have been using it to capture violent clashes between themselves and the government. Those videos are then uploaded to the Internet where others can see them, providing more fuel for the protests to continue.

The report gave no indication as to whether authorities in Syria are cracking down on other smartphones with video recording capabilities besides the iPhone.

The conflict has now been raging for 8 months, and November was the deadliest month yet in Syria, with nearly 1,000 people killed. The United Nations has estimated that more than 4,000 people have died since the protests began in March, according to The Associated Press.

Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was actually of Syrian descent, as his biological father Abdulfattah John Jandali migrated to America. Jobs was given up for adoption, and the two never formally met, though biographer Walter Isaacson revealed in his book that the two did cross paths coincidentally.

Jandali actually became involved in the Syrian dispute this week, with a new video uploaded to YouTube for the "Syrian Sit-In" movement. "I am in solidarity with the Syrian people," he said.