After a year of slow moving progress, the “Managing Social Messaging Apps” bill returned to the Majles’ Parliamentary Cultural Committee in late 2019. It is the only one of the six ICT-related bills unveiled in 2018 to have made it this far — the other five (detailed in our special report Bills, Bills, Bills: Upcoming PolicyContinue reading “Iran’s “Managing Social Messaging Apps” Bill Returns to Parliament”
Yearly Archives: 2020
Policy Monitor — February 2020
Iran was confronted with yet another major crisis in February, as a COVID-19 outbreak in Qom rapidly spread nationwide. As of March 20, Iran is dealing with one of the largest outbreaks in the world outside of China, with possibly tens of thousands of infections and more than 1,200 deaths. Iranian healthcare workers continue to workContinue reading “Policy Monitor — February 2020”
FATAwatch and the Judiciary Monitor
Over the last few years, we’ve highlighted how President Rouhani and an empowered Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC) have together overseen the development of a coherent and dangerous policy agenda that seeks to downgrade Iranians’ digital rights. However, away from the limited transparency of policy papers and regulations, Iran’s Judiciary, Cyber Police (FATA), and theContinue reading “FATAwatch and the Judiciary Monitor”
Network Monitor — February 2020
Unlike in January — where we saw a number of sustained internet disruption incidents, and in some cases even shutdowns — we did not see any protracted internet shutdowns in February. However, we were able to observe a number of network disruptions affecting Iran, commencing from 2 February. In contrast to January, much of the disruption wasContinue reading “Network Monitor — February 2020”
Policy Monitor — January 2020
Internet disruptions returned during Iran’s January protests, and new legislation regulating messaging apps returned to Parliament.
Network Monitor — January 2020
As public dissent flared up in the aftermath of the IRGC’s accidental downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, internet disruptions were observed in Iran once again.
Resisting Information Controls in Iran in 2020 and Beyond
As Iran’s information control infrastructure expands, so must the methods for resisting it.
Introducing Filterwatch’s Network Monitor
Filterwatch’s new monthly Network Monitor will report on the state of the internet in Iran and and help make sense of any disruptions.
Policy Monitor — December 2019
In December, a draft bill proposes new rules on internet shutdowns and the Supreme Council for Cyberspace hands ICT Ministry a new deadline.
Introducing Filterwatch’s Network Monitor
Iran has a long history of disrupting and shutting down the internet. The ongoing development of the National Information Network looks to further empower the authorities to limit or sever Iranians’ access to the global internet, as demonstrated during the near-total internet shutdown in November 2019. While November’s internet shutdown deserved the global media attentionContinue reading “Introducing Filterwatch’s Network Monitor”