In the past, most decision-making power about Iranian ICT policy has sat within institutions such as the Supreme Council for Cyberspace, and the Committee to Determine Incidents of Criminal Content. This has led to policy development processes characterised by recurring conflicts between the judiciary and government representatives. As a result of this, officials from more marginalised political groupings have been almost completely absent from policy-making process in Iran.
However, we appear to be witnessing the early signs of a shift towards increasing levels of engagement by the Iranian Parliament in ICT policy-making processes. In October we saw the launch of a new parliamentary grouping calling itself the “Cyberspace Faction”.
All the early signs point towards this new grouping of MPs taking a more active lead in Parliament in calling for tough new legislation to regulate the online sphere. This month also saw Iranian media outlets break the news that MPs are considering handing over control of key parts of Iran’s internet infrastructure to the armed forces. This provision is currently contained in the “Managing Social Messengers Bill”, which is currently being considered in Parliament.
During October, Iran’s media and government institutions were largely preoccupied with the effects of the new waves of US sanctions imposed on Iran. Iranian currency still failed to regain the value that it lost over the course of the past two months. Some Iranian officials have started discussing the role of the internet in feeding into uncertainty about the value Iranian currency and therefore contributing to its devaluation. Iranian Judiciary also has announced that number of websites have been blocked in Iran due to their role in Iran’s currency inflation.
Policy Developments
New “Cyberspace Faction” in Iranian Parliament
On 23 October the conservative Iranian MP Ehsan Ghazizadeh announced the formation of a “Cyberspace Faction” in the Iranian Parliament. During a press conference, he announced that 71 MPs have signed up to the grouping, which will seek to take an active role in shaping new legal frameworks to govern Iranian cyberspace.
During the launch of the grouping, Ghazizadeh bemoaned Iran’s limited levels of ICT-related legislation, complaining that the country’s four existing ICT bills were insufficient to meaningfully regulate the internet in Iran. Such language suggests that the emerging parliamentary grouping is serious about using parliamentary processes to expand internet regulations.
Armed Forces Poised To Take Control Over Key Net Infrastructure
On 22 October the magazine Peivast published a report revealing the consideration of a new bill entitled the “Managing Social Messengers Bill”, which seeks to transfer a significant level of control over Iran’s Internet infrastructure from Iran’s Telecommunications Infrastructure Company to the armed forces.
Since then, more details have come to light, with the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) raising concerns about a number of provisions in the bill which threaten citizens’ rights. The bill is backed by 93 MPs and is currently being considered in the Parliamentary Culture Committee. Iran’s ICT Ministry has objected to the bill, claiming that to hand key internet infrastructure over to the military would be illegal.
National Centre for Cyberspace: No New Telegram Agreement
On 1 October Amir Khorasan — the Content Deputy at the National Center for Cyberspace — quashed rumors of a new agreement having been reached between the Iranian government and Telegram.
In the past, a number of Iranian officials had claimed that direct talks were ongoing between Iran and Telegram. Although Telegram has not demonstrated any meaningful transparency regarding its dealings with Iran, it is clear that they previously reached some level of agreement which resulted in the placement of Telegram content delivery networks (CDNs) in the country.
Supreme Council of Cyberspace Intervenes on Internet of Things
On 22 October a meeting of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC) was chaired by President Hassan Rouhani. The meeting saw two major decisions being reached: firstly, to introduce greater levels of governance relating to the Internet of Things in Iran. The three page document mainly outlines the SCC’s definition of the IoT, and gives the SCC six months to deliver a detailed report to the National Centre for Cyberspace about the challenges posed by the IoT, in collaboration with other ICT policy-making institutions.
The other important decision made by SCC was to delegate the executive responsibilities of Iran’s High Council of Informatics to the ICT Ministry. This council was dissolved on 2 April 2014 and its duties were reassigned to the SCC.
Will IRGC Withdraw From Telecommunication Company of Iran?
On 25 October Iran’s ICT Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi said that more details will be published soon about IRGC’s plans to sell their shares in the Mobin Trust Consortium.
Earlier it was reported in IRGC-affiliated news agencies that the IRGC is planning to put an end to its financial entanglements with the Telecommunication Company of Iran.
ICT Ministry Signals More Regulations on Digital Economy
On 20 October Jahromi announced the upcoming release of a document outlining regulations for the digital economy in Iran. Jahromi said that the document will provide a basis for the governance of the digital economy in Iran.
Infrastructure
ICT Ministry Refutes Claims US Sanctions Could Disrupt Net Access
Iran’s ICT Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi has dismissed claims that a new wave of US sanctions could lead to Iran’s access to the internet being cut off. The claim was made by number of people on social media, and it was put to Jahromi on a TV talk show on 23 October.
New SIMs Promise ‘Age-Appropriate’ Internet For Kids, Teens
On 29 October the Iranian company Anarestan claimed that it has distributed 1.5 million child and teenager-friendly SIM cards nationwide. The SIM card places some restrictions on the websites accessible to users, and claims to provide more ‘age-appropriate’ content to users.
Jahromi has spoken about the importance of providing tailored content to young people, and the ICT Ministry publicises the organisation’s work on the issue.
Cybersecurity & Cybercrime
FATA Announces 117 Cybercrime Arrests in Qom
On 10 October the Head of Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) in Qom Province announced 117 people had been arrested for cybercrimes in the province between March-June 2018. According to Colonel Ali Movali, 70 of those who were arrested because of financial crimes.
Nearly 75,000 Arrests in Eight Years of FATA
On 10 October General Kamal Hadianfar, the Head of FATA claimed that over the last eight years of FATA’s operation, 74,917 people have been identified and arrested by the organisation. He also claimed that currently between 10 to 12 million in Iran use VPNs.
Digital Services and the Economy
Cafe Bazaar Reveals Iran’s Regional Tech Hubs
According to a report released on 28 October by the Iranian app store Cafe Bazaar, 26.8% of all Iranian applications are made in Tehran. Gilan Province is the second largest producer, producing 9.9% of all apps developed in Iran. Khorasan Razavi (8.5%), Golestan (7.9%) and West Azerbaijan (7.4%) follow.
The report also states that 31% of the apps made in Tehran are games.
Content, Apps and Social Media Filtering
ISP Shatel Expresses Concern Over Economics of Filtering
On 5 October the Head of the Board of Directors at the Shatel Group, Hussein Shanehsazzadeh, stated that filtering has negatively affected the income of internet service providers in Iran, implying that users’ data usage has fallen. He expressed his worries about rumours indicating the possible filtering of Instagram.
Although many users have taken to using VPNs to access blocked sites in Iran, announcements such as this suggest that a not-insignificant number of users have lost their connection to blocked websites altogether.
New Filtering Committee Secretary: No Friend of Messaging Apps
On 13 October the Secretary of the CDICC, and Judiciary’s Deputy on Cyberspace Issues Abdolsamad Khoramabadi was replaced by Javad Javidniya, the former Deputy Prosecutor of Mashhad. Khoramabadi has been a leading figure in advocating for a heavy-handed crackdown on foreign-hosted messaging apps and social networks. On a number of occasions he has entered into public feuds with Rouhani’s ICT ministers over core aspects of policy.
Javidniya is a relative unknown coming into this role, and it remains unclear whether this change will lead to any substantial policy shifts. That said, on the basis of the information that we have available, Javidniya appears to share Khorramabadi’s hard-line stance on internet policy issues.
In an 2016 interview, Javidniya raised his concerns about social networking sites threatening social values and citizens’ “commitment to the family”. He also labeled Telegram as a “Zionist software”, and spoke of the need to block it and replace it with a domestic messaging app.
Telegram CEO Claims Iran Requested Censorship Tools
Telegram founder Pavel Durov tweeted on 20 October that Iranian authorities “demanded that Telegram provide them with spying and censorship tools”. He said that when the company ignored this request, the app was blocked.
Filtering Intensifies in Response to Currency Crisis
On 3 October Tehran’s Prosecutor Jafar Dolatabadi announced that 17 sites and 26 channels were blocked after a joint investigation by FATA and the Tehran Police.
These sites were ordered to be blocked for the role they were deemed to have played in the Iranian currency crisis. The sites were accused of publishing inaccurate prices for foreign currency and gold on a daily basis, thereby contributing to panic in the market.
