Posters That Swallowed the Posts: Is it Legal to Shut Down Instagram Accounts?

Seizing Instagram accounts of individuals and businesses and deleting their content by taking control of the accounts is an illegal act that lacks the necessary legal basis under Iranian laws. This not only violates the principle of legality of crimes and punishments and the principles of fair trial in criminal proceedings but also infringes uponContinue reading “Posters That Swallowed the Posts: Is it Legal to Shut Down Instagram Accounts?”

Nazer App: How Iran is Using Technology to Suppress Women’s Rights

Authors: Azin Mohajerin, Amir Rashidi Iranian women’s privacy and freedom have been increasingly violated through the government’s use of technology, especially after the Women, Life, Freedom movement. The government has a long history of using technology to spy on Iranian citizens, such as SIAM, facial recognition, e-government services, surveillance tools developed by the prosecutor’s office,Continue reading “Nazer App: How Iran is Using Technology to Suppress Women’s Rights”

Annual Report on The Impact of FATA Police on Citizen Rights in the Wake of the Women, Life, Freedom Movement

Introduction In 2023, Iran began to see the aftermath of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, which brought significant and often tense social changes. This report looks at how the Cyber Police and other security and judicial forces have used legal and illegal tools to enforce the compulsory hijab law, examining its impact on women’s rightsContinue reading “Annual Report on The Impact of FATA Police on Citizen Rights in the Wake of the Women, Life, Freedom Movement”

Increasing Control of Cyberspace to Repress Social Change

The present report provides an overview of the activities of Iran’s cyber police and the cyberspace performance of security forces in the three-month period starting from the 1st of July to the end of September.2023, with a particular focus on widespread arrests of individuals active in cyberspace throughout Iran.  These arrests were carried out particularlyContinue reading “Increasing Control of Cyberspace to Repress Social Change”

How Women Are Targeted by Virtual Repression in the Name of Modesty and Hijab

  Recently, it was reported that the parliament is considering a bill on modesty and hijab, which would be implemented through Article 85 of the Constitution. This bill aims to regulate and penalize the behavior of women in cyberspace, including the promotion of voluntary – as opposed to mandatory – hijab. Since, like any modernContinue reading “How Women Are Targeted by Virtual Repression in the Name of Modesty and Hijab”

FATAwatch: January – March 2022

What is FATA Watch? In the past decade the security establishment and the judiciary in Iran have been one of the primary instruments of suppression and censorship on the internet.  The FATA cyber police force has been in the news for putting pressure on civil rights activists, journalists and well-known figures, but most of itsContinue reading “FATAwatch: January – March 2022”

FATAwatch: October – December 2021

This report covers the activities of Iran’s Cyber Police, FATA, and Judicial authorities in restricting the country’s Internet and suppressing freedom of expression and freedom of the press online during the final quarter of 2021, which falls between October and December 2021.  During this quarter we have observed the arrest of a number of journalistsContinue reading “FATAwatch: October – December 2021”

FATAwatch: April – June 2021

This edition of FATAwatch covers the second quarter of 2021, which falls between April to June 2021. The coverage period coincided with Iran’s presidential elections held on 18 June, which resulted in a win for Iran’s then Head of the Judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi. Public engagement with the election was limited, resulting in a historically lowContinue reading “FATAwatch: April – June 2021”

Policy Monitor – June 2020

In the June edition of Policy Monitor, we bring you the latest following the first meeting of the  Supreme Council for Cyberspace in four months and the first in the current Iranian calendar. A recent session saw the SCC pass an important new resolution on the National Information Network – a project which continues toContinue reading “Policy Monitor – June 2020”