In the past month, Iranian authorities announced statutes and guidelines that will have a significant impact on the future of the internet in Iran. They include measures to drive users to platforms that emulate foreign products, track user activity on internet and intranet, establish tiered internet access, and generate income from the sale of VPNs.Continue reading “Iran’s Future: Filtered, Traceable, and Anti-Sanctions”
Author Archives: Louis Shakibi
The hidden war on internet access in Iran
On February 13, 2024, a hacker group called “Rebellion Until Overthrow” leaked parliamentary documents and emails that revealed the Islamic Republic’s internet censorship and surveillance practices. The documents showed how the government used urban cameras to surveil and suppress protesters, and how it has a vision to limit internet access to the global internet forContinue reading “The hidden war on internet access in Iran”
Blocking Access to the Global Internet Through Economic Pressure
On January 14, 2023, regulators issued a decree that authorized operators to raise fixed internet prices by 7 to 34 percent. This was preceded earlier in the month by a price hike in mobile internet packages, which also removed long-term, cost-effective volume packages. The price increase only applied to international traffic for both fixed andContinue reading “Blocking Access to the Global Internet Through Economic Pressure”
Sistan and Baluchestan; An Internet Outage Laboratory
From December 31, 2023, to January 30, 2024, Iran experienced two significant internet access disruptions due to issues with internet gateways. These incidents mirrored similar outages that occurred twice in November 2023. Additionally, on January 16, 2024, both fixed and mobile internet services were cut off in Sistan and Baluchestan, with a similar pattern ofContinue reading “Sistan and Baluchestan; An Internet Outage Laboratory”
End of the Definite Internet Shutdown Pattern in Sistan and Baluchestan; Continuation of Unexplained Disruptions
Seven months after the order by Ibrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, to the Ministry of Communications to investigate the cause of internet slowness and disruptions and to resolve them, no response has been given to this directive. Instead, he reiterated this order during the opening session of a communications project on December 22, 2023,Continue reading “End of the Definite Internet Shutdown Pattern in Sistan and Baluchestan; Continuation of Unexplained Disruptions”